N’DJAMENA, Chad, 9 April 2004 — Representatives from the Sudanese government and rebels fighting an insurgency in the western Darfur region signed a cease-fire agreement yesterday that would allow humanitarian agencies into the area and provide a 45-day window to reach a peace agreement.
The signing took place in Chad, where President Idriss Deby and his team of mediators have been helping hammer out a deal.
Sudanese Investment Minister Sharif Ahmed Omar Badr, who heads a Darfur reconciliation committee, signed on behalf of the government.
“We are very happy to get out of this room and go back to Sudan with this agreement,” Badr said. “There is no winner, there is no loser. We reached a consensus and the only winner is Darfur and Sudan.”
Minni Arkoi Minawi, secretary-general of the Sudanese Liberation Army, and Mohammed Saleh Hamid, leader of the Justice and Equality Movement, signed for their two rebel groups. Dr. Sharif Harir, a negotiator for the Sudanese Liberation Army, said the hardest part of the talks was building trust between the two sides.
“We managed, through painful negotiations, to reach an agreement,” he said. “Some parties used racially based militias in Darfur, the feelings were strong.”
The cease-fire will begin 72 hours after the signing and stay in place for 45 days. The agreement called for final peace talks to begin within two weeks.
Thousands of people have been killed and more than 860,000 others forced to flee their homes in Darfur, an impoverished region that borders Chad, since rebels took up arms in February 2003 to fight for a share in power and wealth.
