Sudanese government, Darfur rebels to resume talks early February

KHARTOUM, Jan 26, 2005 (Al-Anba) — The head of the government delegation at the Abuja talks, Majdhub al-Khalifah, has said the government is ready to resume talks with the Darfur rebels.

He said the talks would resume in Abuja in the first week of February, as scheduled by the AU Peace and Security Council.

He further said the government was expecting this to be the last round of talks.

He told Al-Anba that Sudan was committed to the cease-fire in Darfur and would guarantee the protection of civilians, without resorting to military escalation so as to create a suitable climate for the success of the Abuja talks.

Material provided by the BBC Monitoring Service.