Sudanese delegates gather for next round of Darfur peace talks

ABUJA, Dec 9 (AFP) — Sudanese delegates began arriving in the Nigerian capital Abuja on Thursday ahead of the latest round of African Union-sponsored talks on resolving the conflict in the war torn western region of Darfur.

Magzoub El Khaliffa Ahmed, Sudan’s Minister of Agriculture and Forestry and head of Sudan’s delegation, talks with the media after peace talks with rebels in Abuja, Nigeria October 27, 2004.

Officials said they hoped that the conference would begin on Friday, but rebel leaders warned that some of their envoys were having travel problems and it was not clear exactly when the welcoming ceremony would be held.

“The expectation of the government is that the meeting will resume tomorrow,” said Remi Oyo, spokeswoman for Nigeria’s President Olusegun Obasanjo who as chairman of the African Union is the host of the talks.

Obasanjo “is optimistic that the talks will be successful, just like the previous ones. We do not forsee any problems,” she added.

A second round of talks was suspended last month after representatives of the Khartoum government and two of the Darfur region’s rebel groups agreed to sign protocols reinforcing a ceasefire and guaranteeing the safety of refugees.

Now, mediators are hoping to cajole the deeply distrustful parties towards a lasting political settlement to the 21-month old conflict, which has left tens of thousands of civilians dead and more than a million homeless.

The mainly black African rebels accuse Sudan’s Arab-led central government of persecuting their supporters and have demanded greater political autonomy and a larger share of the country’s oil wealth.

Abduljabar Dosa, an envoy from the rebel Sudanese Liberation Movement, said that his colleagues had begun arriving in Abuja but that six had been held up in London because of delays in issuing them with Nigerian visas.

He said that his group was seeking to speak to AU officials but that they expected some meetings, perhaps informal talks ahead of the main conference, to restart on Friday.