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The
Darfur peace talks resumed Friday after a six-month break.
(Al-Jazeera)
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ABUJA,
June 10, 2005 (IslamOnline.net & News Agencies) – A new round of
talks aimed at ending conflict in the troubled western Sudan's region
of Darfur was set to open Friday, June
10, in
the Nigerian capital after a
six-month break.
Delegates
from the Sudanese government and the main two rebel groups, the Sudan
Liberation Movement (SLM) and Justice and Equality Movement (JEM)
already arrived in
Nigeria
to take part in the talks,
Agence France Presse (AFP) reported.
"The
talks will soon get under way. The representation will be high-level.
The delegates, especially from the rebel side, arrived this
morning," an official from the African Union (AU), which sponsors
the talks, said.
The
special UN envoy to
Sudan
, Jan Pronk, also arrived in
the West African country to take part in the talks.
The
AU official added that the head of the AU Commission, Alpha Oumar
Konare, would preside over the opening ceremony of the
Darfur
talks.
"Konare
has arrived at the conference hall for the talks. He will chair the
opening session on behalf of Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo and
the AU."
JEM
head, Ibrahim Khalil, told Al-Jazeera TV that his movement is working
to reach a comprehensive solution with the Sudanese government to
maintain
Sudan
's territorial integrity.
Peace
talks between the Sudanese government and the two rebel groups began
in
Abuja
in August 2004, but were
suspended in December to allow for more consultations among the
warring parties.
The
Darfur
conflict erupted in April 2003 when the rebel JEM and the SLM took up
arms against the
Khartoum
government.
The
United Nations said the conflict is causing the world’s worst
humanitarian crisis at present.
An
estimated 670,000 people have fled their homes since the beginning of
the conflict while 110,000 others reportedly sought refuge in
neighboring
Chad
.
Optimism
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The
AU has 2,700 troops on the ground in Darfur to protect
international observers.
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Obasanjo
expressed hope that the new round of talks would bring a
"comprehensive solution" to the
Darfur
conflict.
"The
president's expectation is that this will be the last round of the
negotiations, towards a comprehensive solution of the
Darfur
crisis that will lead to a
unified
Sudan
, peaceful and secured,"
Obasanjo's spokeswoman, Oluremi Oyo, told AFP.
"The
president is upbeat. He is optimistic, he has put a lot of efforts
into this and he knows that the contestants (parties) over the
Darfur
crisis are very keen on
getting this resolved in the best way," she added.
Obasanjo,
Chairman of the AU, was due to return to
Nigeria
later Friday after a visit to
Geneva
.
A
similar feeling of optimism was echoed by Sudanese
President Omar Al-Bashir, who said earlier this week that he hoped the
Abuja
meeting would be the last.
Doubts
However,
Jason Mosley,
Africa
analyst for the
London
based research group, Oxford Analytica,
said indications are not good that the talks will make much progress
toward ending the conflict, according to Voice of America.
"I'm
not expecting a dramatic announcement to come out of tomorrow,"
he told AFP. "But what's good is that we're getting people back
to the table. It's certainly not going to be anything earth-shaking
though."
He
cited recent fighting between the two rebel groups as a sign they are
not yet ready to negotiate seriously.
Clashes
erupted between the two rebel groups last week, claiming 11 lives
while 17 others were injured, according to the AU mission in
Darfur
.
Mosley
also cast doubts on the sincerity of
the Sudanese government to render the talks a success.
"We
also have to take into consideration that the government in
Khartoum
is not necessarily interested in seeing
this conflict ended," he said.
"As
long as it draws out, it gives them leverage with the international
community."
There
are around 2,700 AU troops on the ground in
Darfur
to protect international observers monitoring an April 2004 cease-fire
between the
Khartoum
government and the two rebel groups. The AU forces do not have a
mandate to intervene to protect civilians.
On
June 8, NATO defense ministers gave the green light to an operation to
airlift extra African troops to
Sudan
's troubled
Darfur
region, in the alliance's
first mission on the continent.
2-
The AU has 2,700
troops on the ground in
Darfur
to protect
international observers.
