Talks between the Sudanese government and two rebel groups from the western Darfur region began on Monday in the Nigerian capital, Abuja, as the British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw travelled to Sudan for talks with the government in Khartoum.
The talks take place a week before the United Nations is to review progress made by the Sudanese government in disarming the Janjaweed militia — held responsible for atrocities in Darfur — and in improving the humanitarian situation there.
Few details regarding the agenda of the talks, held under the auspices of the African Union, were made public. Previous talks between Khartoum and the rebels collapsed in July after the rebels walked out, saying the government had not met their demands.
The Sudanese delegation to Abuja is headed by Minister of Agriculture Majzoub al-Khalifa, who also led Khartoum’s delegation to previous talks. The two rebel groups are headed by their top negotiators.
Before leaving Khartoum, Khalifa told reporters that the talks will focus on ”security, humanitarian and political issues”.
Sudanese government officials said ”the government is taking this round of talks very serious and the delegation to the talks is fully mandated to reach a settlement to the crisis in the western region”, according to the pro-government Sudanese Media Centre.
Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo has said that Khartoum should do more to disarm the Janjaweed militias.
The conflict in Darfur, which has lasted for 18 months, started when two rebels groups, the Sudan Liberation Army and the Justice and Equality Movement, rose up against the government in Khartoum, saying they were not being given a fair share of the country’s resources.
The government then allegedly unleashed the Arab Janjaweed militia, arming them and giving them air support. The militias have since, according to reports from aid and human rights organisations, raped and killed thousands of civilians in Darfur.
About 50 000 people are believed to have died as a result of the conflict, either violently and of starvation or disease. More than a million people have fled their homes and two million are in urgent need of food and medical attention.
As the August 30 UN deadline for disarming the militias and improving the humanitarian situation in Darfur nears, Khartoum has said the situation is improving as it is deploying thousands of police to Darfur and creating safe areas for displaced people.
Reports from the UN and other organisations speak of a different reality, however, describing a new wave of violence in Darfur in recent weeks.
The European Union representative to the talks, Swedish diplomat Sten Rylander, said over the weekend that he could not see ”any task more vital for the AU than resolving the Sudan crisis”.
Expressing confidence in the AU mediating team headed by former Niger premier Hamid Algabid, Rylander said ”initially the main thing is to get talks going and listen to the parties”.
”The art of listening is the key in all mediation. You then have to start from the positions the parties present to find constructive solutions,” Rylander added.
A top priority is to solve the humanitarian crisis ”so that it doesn’t degenerate further” and maintain pressure on the parties, the Swedish diplomat said.
Meanwhile, Britain is set to issue a strong warning to the Sudanese government over the humanitarian crisis in Darfur, reports in London said, as Foreign Secretary Jack Straw flew to Khartoum for talks before heading for the crisis region.
Straw, due to land in Khartoum late on Monday night, is meeting Sudanese Vice-President Ali Osman Mohamed Taha and Foreign Minister Mustafa Osman Ismail in Khartoum before visiting the Abu Shouk refugee camp in northern Darfur on Tuesday.
Further talks in Khartoum are scheduled thereafter with Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir and UN special representative Jan Pronk.
British Foreign Office officials made it clear Straw will insist Sudan do more to help the victims of the Darfur conflict, characterised by the UN as the worst humanitarian crisis in the world. The United States Congress has passed a resolution to the effect that genocide is taking place.
British officials termed the dialogue with Sudan as ”strong and frank”. The officials queried the intentions of the government.
”Are the government of Sudan doing enough? No. It is quite clear they are not doing enough to deliver on their commitments,” a Foreign Office official told journalists ahead of Straw’s departure. — Sapa-DPA