African Union-mediated peace talks on the crisis in Sudan’s Darfur region are set to open in Nigeria’s capital, Abuja, on Friday, Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo’s spokesperson said on Monday.
”I confirm that the talks will resume on June 10 in Abuja,” Oluremi Oyo said.
The announcement of renewed peace negotiations came on the same day that the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague said it will launch a war-crimes probe into atrocities committed in Darfur.
Peace talks, which began in Abuja last August, were suspended in December to allow for more consultations among the parties concerned in the conflict, after the rebels in Darfur and the Khartoum government traded accusations of violating the ceasefire.
A high-level AU team visited Darfur last weekend to assess the humanitarian situation in war-torn western Sudan.
The visit came on the heels of a tour by United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan, who warned that the world is running ”a race against time” to resolve the conflict.
Between 180 000 and 300 000 people have been killed and about 2,4-million made homeless in Darfur since a rebel uprising in early 2003 prompted Khartoum to unleash the Janjaweed Arab militias on a scorched-earth campaign.
Humanitarian officials warned that the situation in Darfur is growing more desperate. There is not enough funding to meet the crisis caused by drought, famine and the long-term effects of conflict.
The World Food Programme chief for East and Central Africa, Holdbrook Arthur, told journalists that the organisation has received only half of the $563-million of funding from donor governments for relief work in Darfur.
Nigerian leader Obasanjo, who also is AU chairperson, said late on Sunday on television in Abuja that his country has sent food relief to Darfur.
The AU announced late last month it had received $292-million in donations. But it wants more than $460-million in cash, military equipment and logistical support to boost the AU force monitoring the Darfur truce from the current 2 700 soldiers — from Nigeria and Rwanda — to more than 7 700 by September.
On Friday, the AU and the United States said that the level of security in Darfur remains ”unacceptable” and must be improved with the deployment of additional AU troops.
Paying separate visits to the war-ravaged area, US Deputy Secretary of State Robert Zoellick and AU Peace and Security Council commissioner Said Djinnit agreed that boosting humanitarian aid alone will not stabilise the situation.
Meanwhile, the ICC will look into 51 suspected war criminals provided by the UN following an international investigation into abuses in Darfur.
A UN inquiry in January found that Sudanese government forces and militias had committed abuses including murder, torture, rape and pillage in suppressing the two-year ethnic minority uprising in Darfur.
It established that war crimes and human rights violations had been committed in the western province, while falling short of the definition of genocide. — Sapa-AFP