Six African nations to discuss boosting Darfur’s ceasefire

N’DJAMENA, Chad, Feb 11, 2005 (AP) — Officials from six African nations will meet next week to discuss ways to strengthen implementation of a cease-fire deal in Sudan ‘s western Darfur region, officials said Friday.

A Rwandan soldier belonging to the African Union Force patrols in El-Fasher, Sudan. (AFP).

The effort is intended to encourage the Sudanese government and rebels to negotiate a settlement to the conflict while calm prevails in the area,

Leaders and officials from Chad, Sudan , Egypt, Nigeria, Gabon, Libya and the African Union will meet for two days beginning Wednesday in the Chadian capital, N’djamena, in a bid to ease military tensions in Darfur when the adversaries gather for a fourth round of peace talks, said Ahamad Allam-mi, diplomatic adviser to President Idriss Deby.

The talks are expected to resume later this month.

Three previous rounds of peace talks and an April cease-fire agreement have failed to calm Darfur, which plunged into war when rebels took up arms in February 2003.

The most recent round of Darfur peace talks began Dec. 11 in the Nigerian capital of Abuja, but rebels boycotted face-to-face meetings with government delegates two days later, alleging a new government offensive. The talks broke down entirely within weeks.

The African Union summit issued a statement in December calling for a high-powered meeting next week to strengthen implementation of the cease-fire deal “and therefore contribute to the creation of conditions conducive to the vigorous pursuit of the peace process.”

Darfur has been torn by conflict since early 2003, when rebels of ethnic African tribes took up arms, complaining of neglect and discrimination by the Arab-dominated government in Khartoum. A pro-government Arab militia then launched a counterinsurgency campaign in which thousands were killed and hundreds of thousands were driven from their homes.

An estimated 2 million people have been displaced in the conflict.