KHARTOUM, 24 September 2007 — A rebel commander in the troubled western Sudanese region of Darfur has called on an influential exiled leader to join peace talks with the government in Libya next month.

Abdel Karim Jar Al-Nabi, who represents the Group of 19 (G-19), which split from the Sudan Liberation Movement in 2006, urged Abdel Wahid Nur who founded the SLM to attend the talks which are due to start in Tripoli on Oct. 27.

The Tripoli meeting aims to broaden the Darfur peace agreement signed by the Khartoum government and one faction of the SLM in May 2006 to include those groups that did not sign it. However, Nur and another SLM faction have already said they will not attend the talks, while the United States has threatened sanctions against those who do not take part.

“Negotiations and the political process are the best choice,” Jar Al-Nabi said by telephone from his base in North Darfur state late on Saturday.

Nur, who is in exile in Paris, said on Wednesday that he would not join the Tripoli talks, saying that security needed to be restored before there could be any new negotiations with the government.

Nur’s faction of the Sudan Liberation Movement is demanding full deployment of the new joint African Union-United Nations peacekeeping force in Darfur before it will take part in any talks.

But Jar Al-Nabi said that Nur had lost touch with the suffering of the population while in exile and that he lacked a complete picture of the situation on the ground.

“We have a different vision to that of Nur over the strategy needed to end the conflict,” said Jar Al-Nabi.

“The problems can only be resolved through negotiations.” The G-19 has established a stronghold in North Darfur where it continues to be attacked by government forces with the most recent assault last Thursday, according to Jar Al-Nabi.

The head of another SLM faction, which controls large swathes of southern Darfur, said last week that a cease-fire must take hold ahead of any talks.

“The first step should be a total halt to military operations in Darfur... This would in turn create a situation of confidence and good will that could lead to viable political negotiations,” Ahmed Abdel Shafi said.