Sudanese government, rebels try again to push advance Darfur talks

ABUJA, Nigeria, Oct 29, 2004 (AP) — Sudanese government officials and rebel leaders held face-to-face talks Friday, as African Union mediators sought to hammer out agreements that would halt Darfur’s deadly conflict and pave the way toward a permanent peace.

Members of Sudan’s delegation prepare for peace talks with rebels in Abuja, Nigeria October 27, 2004.

The main stumbling block involves a security accord. The pact would regulate an end to the fighting and the manner in which armed groups would lay down their weapons.

The security pact must be reached before the two rebel groups at the talks — the Sudan Liberation Army and the Justice and Equality Movement — would be ready to sign a humanitarian accord that would permit aid organizations unfettered access to hundreds of thousands of refugees from Darfur’s violence.

The talks started last week, but have failed to make significant progress, with both sides still to discuss key issues directly. Delegates said the government and rebels would discuss a long-term political solution to the crisis on Friday.

The Sudan Liberation Army, Darfur’s main rebel group, said it would read a freshly drafted “declaration of principles” to the Sudanese government, African Union mediators, U.N. officials and diplomats.

The main tenet of this declaration would be the separation of religion and state, said Sudan Liberation Army spokesman Mahgoub Hussain.

The Sudanese government has said its proposals would center around increased devolution to all regions in Sudan, giving Darfur’s three states and other areas their own parliaments, governors and constitutions.

Only one of the Darfur states – southern Darfur – has its own parliament. The Sudanese government said the war in Darfur deferred plans for devolution to Darfur’s other regions.

The United Nations has called the turmoil in Darfur the world’s worst humanitarian crisis. According to the U.N., the war has claimed 70,000 lives since March – mostly through disease and hunger. Another 1.5 million have fled their homes since February 2003. No reliable figures are available for those killed by violence.

The Sudanese government has said the U.N.’s death toll is hugely exaggerated, putting the real figure at around 7,000.

On Thursday, a U.S. Air Force transport plane carried 47 Nigerian troops from Abuja to Darfur, the latest batch of soldiers being deployed to bolster an African Union peacekeeping force there.

Nigeria already has 155 troops in Darfur, and is expected to send several hundred more. The African Union force numbers 390 and is supposed to expand to 3,320 soldiers by the end of November.