Sudan peace talks switch to humanitarian issues

ABUJA, Nigeria, Aug 31, 2004 (PANA) — The African Union-sponsored peace talks
on Sudan are expected to resume here Tuesday afternoon to
deliberate on proposals to address the humanitarian crisis in the
western Darfur region.

Both sides had disagreed on the humanitarian situation in the
western region, where 18 months of fighting have left 30,000 dead
and about 1.5 million people internally and externally displaced.

“There is a big gap between the letter which we presented
(Sunday) and the proposal which came today (Monday) from the
African Union,” said rebel spokesman Ahmed Togodt.

“In any case, we are going to study it carefully and come
tomorrow (Tuesday) with a clear vision about the document. But
overall, it looks like its not helping a lot,” Togodt said after
Monday’s adjournment.

He said the rebels still look forward to the disarmament of the
pro-government Janjaweed Arab militia and the provision of funds
by the Sudan government for urgent humanitarian assistance in
Darfur.

The government is also expected to provide a corridor for
international groups to move into the region to offer urgently
needed aid.

The leader of the Sudan government delegation, Majzoob Alkhalifa,
told reporters that he had some reservations about the proposals.

“The document contains essential ingredients but there is a need
to work on the language, modalities of the operation and the
principles,” he said.

He also rejected suggestions that the government had failed to
ensure that attacks on civilian population in Darfur were halted.

“The Sudan government is enforcing the terms of the existing
ceasefire agreement,” said Alkhalifa, who is Sudan’s Minister of
Agriculture.

He said the AU report called for more information and
investigation to verify the exact areas and perpetrators of
recent attacks on civilians, adding, “Until that is done, I don’t
think we can be accused of anything”.

AU chairman and Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo Monday urged
Khartoum to do more to address the unending insecurity in the
Darfur region, particularly in view of confirmed reports by AU
monitors of recent attacks on the civilian population by
government forces.

Obasanjo spoke after meeting the three groups at the peace talks
in Abuja Monday, a day after rebel groups returned to the talks
from a 24-hour boycott over reports of deliberate attacks by the
Sudan government forces that caused more than 75 deaths.

“The President expressed his disappointment at the reported
attacks, which he said had been confirmed to him by the Chairman
of the Ceasefire Monitoring Commission,” an official statement
issued by the presidency said.