Sudan blames Darfur rebels for slowness in implementing cease-fire

KHARTOUM, Feb 21, 2005 (Al-Ray al-Amm) — The Council of Ministers has rejected any foreign interference in Darfur, stressing that the Darfur issue is an African issue which must be resolved within an African context.

Members of Sudan Liberation Army walk with their rifles at Ashma village 30 km (19 miles) from Nyala, south Darfur, October 6, 2004. (Reuters).

Minister of state for Foreign Affairs Al-Tijani Salih Fudayl briefed yesterday’s meeting of the Council of Ministers on the recommendations of both the join commission, monitoring the cease-fire in Darfur, and Ndjamena’s recent mini-summit.

In this respect, he told the meeting that the joint commission had proposed the setting up of a committee to oversee the collection of the rebels and their weapons and their placement in precise areas, pointing out that such a step would help the return of the refugees and displaced. In this regard, Fudayl blamed the growing abductions in Darfur on the fact that nothing has been done about the presence of the rebels in precise areas.

He also said that the government had already agreed to implement the stipulation on the disengagement between its forces and the rebel force. But it is the rebels, he added, that had been dragging their feet and refusing to cooperate on this matter.

He went on to say that the placement of the rebels in defined areas would help define all parties’ responsibilities and the position of their forces. In this respect, Fudayl also stressed the fact that a disengagement would help bring the security situation under control.

Regarding the rebels’ demand that the government should pull back its troops to their position before 8 August 2004 as a pre-condition for further talks, Fudayl said the government had already pulled back its troops from two positions, i.e. Labdu and Washmah, out of four positions which the government troops had occupied after the aforementioned date. In this respect, he affirmed the government’s readiness to pull its troops out of the other two positions, i.e. Mara and Qurayd, as soon as the rebel forces would be replaced by the AU forces.

Fudayl went on to say, however, that the AU forces are not ready to meet the government’s request yet.