Darfur rebels call for UN intervention after failure of Abuja talks

KHARTOUM, Dec 22, 2004 (KUNA) — Darfur rebels called upon the African Union Wednesday to refer the Sudanese Darfur crisis to the UN after peace talks held in the Nigerian capital of Abuja failed.

Sudan Liberation Army rebels gather near a base in the desert east of El Fasher, the capital of North Darfur state November 8, 2004. (Reuters).

The two main rebel movements, the Sudan Liberation Army (SLA) and the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM), issued a statement holding the Sudanese government responsible for the failure of the talks, which ended yesterday.

The statement warned of the possibility of the government waging a war to wipe out the people of Darfur within the next few days, calling upon the UN to intervene and pressure the Sudanese government into adhering to the will of the international community.

It also rejected the final statement issued by the Abuja talks, claiming that it is not in accordance with the agreement struck with the Nigerian president and was amended to appease the Sudanese government.

For his part, head of the government delegation to the talks Majzoub Al-Khalifa Ahmad, described the rebels’ disavowal of the final statement as being an irresponsible act, stressing that it was agreed to by all parties.

He went on to say that all articles of the statement stipulate commitment to the ceasefire signed last April, the withdrawal of forces, the halting of attacks against humanitarian and commercial activities, as well as government bodies.

The armed conflict broke out in Darfur in February 2003 between the Sudanese government and rebels has left more than 50 thousand dead and another 1.5 million displaced, as well as the fleeing of over 120 thousand others to neighboring Chad.