Darfur rebels demand govt withdrawal before talks

By Opheera McDoom

MUHAJIRIYAH, Sudan, March 6 (Reuters) – Darfur rebels will only return to talks with the Sudanese government if the army withdraws from areas it has captured since a ceasefire signed last April, senior rebel leaders said on Sunday.

Teenage Sudan Liberation Army fighters wearing amulets ( believed to bring good luck and protect against evil) smoke cigarettes and chat in the rebel held village of Bodong in North Darfur, March 3, 2005. (Reuters).

The African Union (AU) says the talks could resume in the Nigerian capital Abuja later this month.

But they have been delayed while the AU holds separate meetings with the rebels and the government to find common ground after several failed rounds last year.

Field commander Hassan Salih Nahar of the main Darfur rebel group, the Sudan Liberation Army (SLA), said the government must leave the areas it took in violation of the April truce.

“We as the SLA will not go to the negotiations until the government withdraws from the areas it occupied since the ceasefire in April 2004,” he told reporters in the only major town still in rebel hands, Muhajiriyah in South Darfur state.

In clashes in December, government forces took many rebel areas in the east of South Darfur state, and came within seven km (four miles) of Muhajiriyah, a town of about 15,000 inhabitants.

The government has said it will withdraw but only if the rebels withdraw from areas they have captured since the ceasefire. Nahar said they had taken no new territory since then, so would not withdraw from any areas.

JANJAWEED

The picturesque town, surrounded by bright blue water holes, has swollen to more than double its size with people fleeing attacks on nearby villages, all of which have been burned by Arab militias over the past two months.

The international community says Sudan armed Arab militias to quell the rebellion in Darfur. The militias, known locally as Janjaweed, now stand accused of massive human rights abuses in a campaign of killing, raping and looting against non-Arabs.

Khartoum admits arming some militias to fight the rebels but denies all links to the Janjaweed, calling them outlaws.

Nahar and other leaders said they were disappointed with the almost 2,000-strong AU force observing the truce in Darfur.

“Let’s be frank. The AU has huge administrative weaknesses and lacks experience and the military capabilities to stop these attacks,” said the SLA humanitarian coordinator for south Darfur, Kamal al-Hajj.

Nahar said the international community had to help them by sending more soldiers. “You cannot tell me the world has not got the resources to give to the AU to help them to stop these attacks – send additional international troops,” he said.

He said attacks were still happening around Labado, a town south of Muhajiriya, where a 100-strong AU base is located.

“Now there are Janjaweed attacks just here in our areas despite the AU presence and they just write reports – is that a way to stop ethnic cleansing?” he added.