Sudan rebels insist govt troops leave Darfur before talks resume

ABUJA, Dec 15 (AFP) — Sudanese rebels boycotting AU-sponsored peace talks for Darfur on Wednesday insisted they will only return to the negotiating table when Khartoum withdraws its troops from the western region.

“We are ready to continue with these talks if the Sudan government withdraws the troops immediately from where they are now to their original position,” Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) spokesman Ahmed Tugod said.

He was speaking to journalists after a meeting with AU mediators to try to convince two Darfur rebel groups to return to the negotiations.

JEM and the rebel Sudan Liberation Movement (SLM) on Monday walked out of talks here to resolve the Darfur conflict, accusing Khartoum of repeated ceasefire violations.

“We informed the AU mediation team about a letter written on Tuesday by the Sudan government to the AU Ceasefire Commission giving four hours (ultimatum) to the (rebel) movements to evacuate the 41 different areas in Darfur state,” said Tugod.

“This development is actually a declaration of war. This indicates…the Sudan government is not willing to find a political solution to this conflict,” he added.

“The consultation was very useful in the sense that we are hopeful the talks will resume. We are about to meet the government and we will convey the message to the government saying what the parties are requesting stopping of attacks and withdrawal of troops,” AU spokesman Assane Ba said.

“In our meeting today, the government is supposed to give us a plan on how they will disarm the Janjaweed (government-sponsored Arab militia) and what they feel about the rebel movements’ request. The Commission has replied to the Sudan government that it is unrealistic to ask the (rebel) movements to evacuate their positions in four hours,” added Ba.

The AU chief negotiator, Sam Ibok, said: “We have told the Sudan government to stop fighting if they want to continue with the talks. You either stop fighting and continue with the talks or you continue with fighting and stop talking.”

The AU-brokered talks in Abuja are aimed at bringing to an end the conflict that has raged in Darfur since February 2003, when rebels drawn from the mainly black African population of the region rose up against Khartoum, accusing the Arab government of marginalising their region.

At least 70,000 people have been killed in the conflict and around 1.6 million forced from their homes, resulting in what the United Nations has called the worst humanitarian crisis in the world at present.