Sudan govt. rebel groups unanimously adopt agenda for peace talks: Obasanjo

ABUJA, Aug 24, 2004 (Xinhua) — Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo said here Tuesday the Sudan government and rebel groups from the war-torn Darfur region have unanimously adopted an agenda for peace talks.

In a press briefing, Obasanjo, who is also the chairman of the African Union (AU), said the parties will take a brief break before resuming talks on the first item on the agenda, which is the provision of humanitarian aid to the western region of Darfur.

“I believe that we made progress,” he said.

The African Union (AU)-brokered talks on the conflict in Darfur continued here Tuesday, with the African regional bloc and all the neighbors of Sudan urging for a speedy political solution to the conflict.

The Abuja meeting comes a week before a UN Security Council deadline for the Sudanese government to take measures to disarm the Janjaweed militia in Darfur or face possible sanctions Obasanjo opened the peace talks on Monday, calling for unity of purpose among Africans to end the crisis without the intervention

of foreign forces. The Sudanese government is represented by Agriculture Minister Mazjoub al-Khalifa Ahmed, while the two rebel groups, namely the Sudan Liberation Movement and the Justice and Equality Movement, both sent their top negotiators.

The meeting is another effort by the African Union to help bring about a political solution to the Darfur conflict, described by the United Nations as the world’s worst humanitarian crisis, which has left some 10,000 people dead and one million others displaced.