Sudan’s government and its rebel foes returned to the negotiating table on Tuesday as African Union-led attempts to reach a deal on ending Darfur’s humanitarian crisis were overshadowed by kidnapping claims.
As delegates to the AU peace conference in Abuja held their eighth day of talks, they had yet to reach agreement on the first agenda item: how to ensure the safety of the Darfur region’s 1,2-million displaced people.
African mediators have drawn up a draft deal on the issue in the hope of making concrete progress before the United Nations Security Council meets on Thursday to hear what is likely to be a critical assessment of Sudan’s behaviour.
Khartoum’s forces, including the Janjaweed Arab militia, stand accused of killing, intimidating and raping members of Darfur’s black African minorities, whom the government sees as sympathetic to the area’s rebel groups.
”We are hopeful that we will be able to extract today a consensus agreement from the two sides on the AU proposal for the resolution on the humanitarian crisis in Darfur,” said AU Commission spokesperson Assane Ba.
The parties brought amendments to the draft to a meeting which closed at 7:20pm (6:20pm GMT). AU officials were to update the document and return to the talks at 9:00pm for another attempt to win approval.
Whatever progress is made by the parties at their Abuja meeting risks being lost amid a war of words over the latest reports of kidnappings and atrocities coming out of Sudan’s western province of Darfur.
The Sudanese government said on Tuesday that rebels had kidnapped 22 health workers involved in a mass vaccination programme in northern Darfur.
The United Nations’ World Food Programme says eight Sudanese nationals working for the WFP and the Red Crescent went missing over the weekend in Darfur. The government said they had been abducted.
Rebel leaders denied that their forces were involved in any kidnappings.
”It’s all propaganda by the government in Khartoum. Let them prove the allegations,” said Ahmed Mohammed Tugod, chief negotiator of the Justice and Equality Movement at the Abuja talks.
”Our men do not operate in the area where the kidnap took place. Rather, government troops and Janjaweed operate there. The Sudanese government should be held responsible. Kidnapping is not our style,” he added.
Nigeria’s President Olusegun Obasanjo, the conference host and current chairperson of the African Union, said on Monday that AU ceasefire monitors had confirmed a rebel claim of government attack on a Darfur village.
”He has written to President Omar Hassan el-Bashir asking him to ensure that all attacks by government forces and the Janjaweed cease forthwith,” a Nigerian statement said, warning the government not to undermine the peace process.
The rebels said that 64 civilians were murdered in the August 26 attack on the village of Yassin in southern Darfur. Khartoum has denied involvement and the AU monitors have not publicly confirmed the reported death toll.
The United Nations has complained that such attacks in the past have led to more than 30 000 casualties and forced 1,4-million people to flee to makeshift, insanitary refugee camps, some of them in neighbouring Chad.
On Monday, United States Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs Constance Newman marked the end of a 30-day UN Security Council deadline for Sudan to ensure the safety of its citizens by touring a camp for the displaced.
”She’s going to say that it’s vital for the government of Sudan to comply fully with its own commitments, comply fully with the requirements of the UN resolution,” US State Department spokesperson Richard Boucher told reporters.
”Otherwise, as stated in the UN resolution, the Security Council will decide to take further action,” Boucher said.
The UN’s special envoy for the conflict, Jan Pronk, is expected to brief the Security Council on Thursday, after which member states may choose to take action against Sudan. Some countries are pushing for sanctions.
Meanwhile, delegates in Abuja are considering a draft agreement on the humanitarian crisis which deals primarily with ensuring access to Darfur for aid workers and beefing up international monitoring of rights abuses. – Sapa-AFP