Rebels ponder security protocol for troubled Darfur in Sudan
ABUJA, Nov 3 (AFP) — Rebels taking part in negotiations here with the Sudanese government to end conflict in the troubled Darfur region have asked for time to consider a key security proposal, a mediator said Wednesday.
African Union (AU) mediators late Tuesday submitted a declaration of principle, which they call the Declaration of Abuja, as a framework for political negotiations between rebels and government to halt a war which has claimed some 70,000 lives and displaced 1.5 million people.
Security questions remained under discussion, with the rebels requesting more time to consider a response to proposals for an agreement submitted on Monday.
“The consultations are going on. At 11:00 am (1000 GMT) we are having a plenary to discuss the political declaration of principles,” said Boubou Niang, political adviser to the mediation team.
“The delegations asked for more time regarding the security protocol, so we are waiting for their comments.”
The AU mediators late Monday pressed Sudan’s government and Darfur rebel leaders to agree on a joint position on security in the strife-torn western region, during talks aimed at reaching an overall deal to end the 20-month civil war.
The delegations were presented with a new plan to resolve security issues that have stalled talks on a peace deal since the negotiations resumed in the Nigerian capital on October 21.
In New York, a spokesman for UN Secretary General Kofi Annan said Annan was very concerned by deteriorating security in Darfur, where a humanitarian group said government troops had forced hundreds of refugees out of a camp late Tuesday.
Mohammed Ahmed Tugod, chief negotiator for the rebel Sudanese Justice and Equality Movement told AFP Tuesday: “We have not yet reached a position on the security draft.”
Another rebel mvement represented here, the Sudanese Liberation Movement (SLM), said it would sign the document.
But its spokesman Mahgoub Hussain told AFP: “To be really effective on the ground, the protocol has to include a timeframe for the withdrawal of the (government) troops and the disarmament of the Janjaweeds.”
The Janjaweeds are the pro-government Arab militias in Darfur.
He also insisted that certain areas captured by the SLM before a ceasefire signed in Ndjamena should be returned to them after government troops retook them.
The AU has deployed peacekeeping Rwandan and and Nigerian troops on the ground.