Khartoum Meets Rebel Leaders in Abuja
The Associated Press
ABUJA, Nigeria - Pushed to end what the United Nations calls the world's worst humanitarian crisis, envoys of Sudan's government gathered in Nigeria on Monday for talks with rebel leaders in Sudan's bloodied western Darfur region. Majzoub al-Khalifa Ahmad, a Cabinet minister and government delegate to the last, failed Darfur peace talks in July, led Sudan's government delegation to Nigeria's capital, Abuja, for what are to be one-day talks. Rebel Sudan Liberation Army and the Justice and Equality Movement groups assembled high-level delegations for the talks. Eighteen months of conflict in Darfur have killed tens of thousands and driven 1.2 million others from their homes. Tensions between nomadic Arab tribes and non-Arab African villagers exploded in February 2003 when the two Darfur rebel groups took up arms over what they regard as unjust treatment by the government in their struggle with Arab countrymen. The United Nations, United States and others accuse Sudan's government of backing pro-government Janjaweed militia in a violent ethnic-cleansing campaign of murder, rape and the razing communities. In a goodwill gesture on the eve of peace talks in Nigeria, Sudan's government said Sunday it would cut the number of official paramilitary forces operating in Darfur by 30 percent in a bid to ease tensions. U.N. spokesperson Radhia Achouri welcomed the move, saying the paramilitary Popular Defense Forces have been blamed for committing various acts of violence against African tribespeople in west Sudan's three Darfur states. "It is a positive step because these forces are one of the reasons of concern for us because they are armed and have been involved in the [violent] actions we want to stop," Achouri said in a telephone interview from the Sudanese capital, Khartoum. Sudan's state minister for interior affairs, Ahmed Mohamed Haroon, said Sunday that the 30 percent reduction in the volunteer force's numbers had been ordered to build confidence ahead of the African Union-sponsored peace talks, and to help implement a rarely heeded April 8 cease-fire agreement. It is unclear how many paramilitary forces operate in Darfur, but they are believed to outnumber the more than 60,000 army and police stationed throughout the region. Haroon said further reductions will occur if rebel forces adhere to the cease-fire.
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