LAGOS, 25 December 2005 — Sudan’s government and rebel groups active in the western region of Darfur have agreed a timetable for talks on the sensitive issues of security and disarmament, a statement from African Union mediators said yesterday. “The commission on cease-fire and security, one of the three negotiating frameworks for the inter-Sudanese peace talks on the conflict in Darfur, (has) adopted a five point agenda for discussions in the plenary session” Friday, it said.
The agenda includes “the general principles, security arrangements for an enhanced humanitarian cease-fire, comprehensive cease-fire and final security arrangements, social reintegration, and timeline for implementation.” The AU special envoy for Sudan and chief mediator, Salim Ahmed Salim of Tanzania, “expressed delight at the important achievement of the commission by adopting the five point agenda and implored the parties to place the interest of the people above all other considerations,” the statement said.
“This is just the beginning of serious talks between the parties” he said, emphasizing that negotiations were always difficult but the will of the parties to achieve peace should prevail. “We want this session to make substantive achievement, as in my opinion this is feasible,” he said. The seventh round of talks organized by the AU opened in Abuja, Nigeria’s capital, on Nov. 22.
