Libyan conference on Sudan’s Darfur region postponed to 25 December

TRIPOLI, Libya, Dec 1, 2004 (Al-Bayan) — A prominent member and leader of the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM), a rebel group in Darfur, has announced that the all-inclusive conference on Darfur, to be hosted by Libya has been postponed until the end of December.

Khalil Ibrahim, leader of the Justice and Equality Movement.

Abu-Bakar Hamad Nur told the Doha based Al-Bayan newspaper that according to information it has been agreed with the Libyan government that the conference should be held between 25-31 December.

Nur who is currently attending a forum on Darfur in Tripoli praised Libya’s efforts aimed at achieving peace and stability in Darfur and Sudan in general.

He said the that they had requested for the postponement of the conference which was supposed to begin next week so that they can conduct further consultations with the all parties in Darfur.

Nur said the move will also make the JEM more prepared for negotiations with the government scheduled for Abuja, Nigeria on 9 December.

Nur said the date of the conference was coinciding with that of the Abuja negotiations thus necessitating its postponement and that the Libyan authorities had agreed to the request.

Material from the BBC Monitoring Service.