ABUJA, 22 December 2004 — Peace talks between the Sudanese government and Darfur’s main rebel movements have been suspended until January, according to a joint statement from the parties released by the African Union yesterday.
“The parties undertake to return to Abuja for the next round of the talks on a date in January 2005 to be confirmed by the African Union,” it said.
The statement reaffirmed the commitment of both the government and the two rebel groups to respect a cease-fire deal signed in April, and called on AU military observers to step up their mission to monitor the frontlines.
The decision underlined the failure of the fourth round of AU-sponsored peace talks, which made no progress towards a lasting political settlement after Sudan launched a military offensive in breach of the April deal.
But AU chairman President Olusegun Obasanjo of Nigeria and other international mediators did manage to persuade both sides to promise to halt the fighting “to create a conducive environment for the next round of talks.”
“The government of Sudan reaffirms its stated commitment to completely stop its military operations in Darfur and to withdraw its forces to previous positions,” the statement said. The rebel Sudan Liberation Movement Army and the Justice and Equality movement also accepted some of the criticism leveled at them by AU monitors.
“The SLM A and the JEM also undertake to cease all attacks against humanitarian and commercial activities and to restrain their forces from attacks on government infrastructure, including police posts,” they said.
But, in the latest example of the bitter disagreements which have dogged the talks, rebel and government officials disagreed over where the cease-fire line should lie.
As far as the rebels are concerned, they say they have not moved their forces since April 8’s truce deal signed by the parties in Ndjamena and that therefore they were this month the victims of an unprovoked government attack.
But the government’s chief negotiator, Agriculture Minister Majzoub Al-Khalifa said that both sides would have to withdraw forces from the frontline in order to return to the April status quo.
“We raised our voice very clearly that both parties should withdraw to their previous positions, and the landmark for that in April 8. We are going to pass the position on maps to the AU joint commission,” he said. Khartoum’s decision on whether to return to the table in January to discuss a political settlement would depend on the rebels pulling back, he said.
The head of the JEM delegation, Mohammed Ahmed Tugod, would not be drawn on this.
“Simply, these conclusions are saying that the Sudan government should immediately stop the military operation on the ground and secondly to withdraw its troops to their original positions,” he said.
