Stalled Sudan’s Darfur talks may resume Friday – AU

ABUJA, Nigeria, Dec 16, 2004 (PANA) — Stalled Darfur peace talks being held in the Nigerian capital of Abuja may resume Friday after Sudan assured the mediators it would withdraw its troops from the region, African Union (AU) mediators said.

Sudanese women and children sit in front of a tent on the sand in the Kalma camp for internally displaced persons on the outskirts of the southern Darfur town of Nyala. (AFP).

The assurance came as the AU Joint Commission on the crisis
prepared to meet later Thursday.

“We are optimistic that the talks will resume tomorrow (Friday).
The government has given commitment to withdraw the troops and
that has given rise to new negotiations on how to begin the talks
again,” AU spokesperson Assane Ba told PANA Thursday.

“We have got information that signs of withdrawal of the troops
have started to show on the ground. We are now sure that the
government have started to move the troops out of the region,” he
said.

The fourth round of the talks, which opened last weekend, stalled
Monday when rebels of the Sudan Liberation Army/Movement (SLA/M)
and the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) walked out in protest
at alleged fresh attacks by government forces in Darfur, where
more than 70,000 people have been killed and over two million
displaced in almost two years of fighting between government and
rebel forces.

The rebels vowed they would only return to the talks if the
attacks were halted.

In turn, the government said it would stop the fighting if the
rebels withdrew from the positions they captured after the
signing of a cease-fire agreement in April.

AU said both sides had broken the cease-fire agreement.

At the end of a third round of talks in Abuja on 10 November, the
parties signed two protocols to improve the security situation in
Darfur and give humanitarian aid workers more access to the
thousands of people displaced by the fighting between government
and the rebel forces.

However, indications are that both side have so far largely
failed to stick to the terms of the protocols.

Meanwhile, the Joint Commission is expected to meet in Abuja
Thursday night to review the state of affairs in the region.

The meeting, to be chaired by Chad’s General Mohammat Ali
Abdallah, will among other items, receive reports on the
ceasefire violations as well as the humanitarian and security
agreements entered into by all the parties.

Nigerian General Festus Okonkwo, who heads the ceasefire
commission, is expected to brief the joint commission as well.

“The outcome of this meeting is very crucial to the continuation
of the peace talks. All the parties are waiting for its outcome
to know what to do next,” an AU official said.