Global Policy Forum

Darfur Peace Talks Break Down

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Integrated Regional Information Networks
July 19, 2004

Peace talks aimed at ending 17-months of conflict between the Sudanese government and two rebel groups in the Darfur region broke down on Sunday before negotiations had even begun. The talks, which were aimed at finding a political solution to the conflict, had opened two days earlier, on 15 July.


The African Union mediators held separate consultations with the Sudanese government representatives and the rebels, after an initial meeting ended in what was reported as a mutual "shouting match".

The Sudan Liberation Movement/Army and the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) rebels put forward a number of preconditions to holding political talks: disarmament of the Janjawid and the removal of those of them absorbed by the police and army; respect for the 8 April ceasefire; an end to impunity for the perpetrators of crimes and an inquiry into allegations of genocide; unimpeded humanitarian access; release of prisoners of war; and a "neutral" venue for future talks, which did not include Ethiopia. The coordinator of JEM, Ahmed Jugod, told IRIN that unless these basic demands were met they would not engage in a political dialogue with Khartoum.

A spokesman for the Sudanese government, Ibrahim Ahmad Ibrahim, said "the demands of the rebels are unacceptable". He said the demands showed " disrespect to the African Union". "It is a delaying tactic, the rebels are not serious," he added.

A statement from the AU said the meeting, which took place in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa, was a continuation of the ongoing "process of dialogue" between the Sudanese parties which had led to the humanitarian ceasefire agreement reached on 8 April, and the 25 April agreement which confirmed the parties' will to convene a conference of all representatives of Darfur to discuss the political, economic and social situation. "There is an urgent need to accelerate the implementation process, particularly in the area of ensuring security, and commitments entered into must be fulfilled without delay by all sides," said an AU statement.

Meanwhile, the AU mission in Sudan had deployed 80 unarmed military observers in Darfur, who had begun to conduct their first investigations, the UN reported. The additional 300-strong AU force mandated to protect the observers during their investigations has yet to be deployed.

An updated UN humanitarian profile said that the number of people displaced in Darfur has gone up by over 100,000 in the last month, from almost 943,000 to over 1,050,000. An estimated 200,000 have fled to neighbouring Chad.

Arab government-allied militias, known as the Janjawid, have engaged in a scorched-earth policy of burning villages to the ground, killing, looting and rape, forcing hundreds of thousands to flee to urban centres. The Sudanese army has also been widely accused of being heavily implicated in the attacks.


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FAIR USE NOTICE: This page contains copyrighted material the use of which has not been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. Global Policy Forum distributes this material without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. We believe this constitutes a fair use of any such copyrighted material as provided for in 17 U.S.C § 107. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own that go beyond fair use, you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.