Sudanese govt signs ceasefire with small Darfur rebel group

N’DJAMENA, Chad, Dec 17, 2004 (AP) — The Sudanese government signed a cease-fire deal with a small rebel faction from the Darfur region Friday, with Sudanese authorities pledging to disarm pro-government militias and insurgents agreeing to send their troops into camps within two months.

A young Sudan Liberation Army rebel patrols the town of Deribat in the Jebel Marra mountains of South Darfur state (Reuters).

Under the deal, both sides agreed to release prisoners of war and civilians detained in the course of the 22-month conflict. They also promised to let aid groups deliver relief to thousands of people affected by violence in parts of the western region.

The deal was signed on the fourth day of secretive peace talks mediated by Chadian officials. The cease-fire only covers territory controlled by the National Movement for Reform and Development, a dissident faction of the second-largest rebel group in Darfur.

Separately, the African Union is mediating peace talks in Nigeria between the Sudanese government and Darfur’s two main rebel groups, the Sudan Liberation Army and the Justice and Equality Movement.

The National Movement for Reform and Development broke away from the Justice and Equality Movement, reportedly accusing the latter of being more concerned with its political agenda than with the conditions in Darfur, Sudanese officials have said.

“This is an important day because we have signed a global peace agreement with the government,” said Noureen Minawi Barcham, head of the rebel faction, which he has some 3,000 troops in Darfur. “We shall respect the cease-fire agreement, and we hope the government will do the same.”

The agreement “is a response to a call of distress of thousands of children and women who are suffering from this brotherly conflict,” Chadian Prime Minister Moussa Faki Mahamat said at the signing ceremony. “These women and these children are asking you only one thing – peace. Give it to them.”

The rebels also agreed to be bound by a cease-fire and other agreements signed between the Sudanese government and the two main rebel groups in Darfur.

The cease-fire will be monitored by a joint commission that will include representatives of the Sudanese government, the rebel group, Chadian mediators and the African Union.

There is no official toll of the fighting in Darfur, which was sparked in February 2003 when two non-Arab African rebel groups took up arms to fight for more power and resources from the Arab-dominated government.

The Sudanese government responded by backing an Arab militia known as the Janjaweed, which is accused of targeting civilians in a campaign of murder, rape and arson.

Disease and hunger have killed 70,000 in the western Darfur region since March, the World Health Organization says. Nearly 2 million are believed to have fled their homes since Darfur fell into crisis.