The African Union expressed “deep regret” on Thursday that hold-out Darfur rebel groups had failed to meet a midnight deadline to sign a peace deal for the troubled western Sudanese region.
At the same time it held out hope that dissident factions of the two groups would accept the Darfur Peace Agreement (DPA) and said the AU Peace and Security Council would meet with them to discuss possible options.
AU commission chief Alpha Oumar Konare said the refusal of the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM), led by Khalil Ibrahim, and a camp of the Sudan Liberation Movement (SLM), led by Abdel Wahid Mohammed al-Nur, was a disappointment.
The two sides had come under intense pressure to sign onto the agreement by a May 31 deadline for them to do so or face possible AU and United Nations sanctions.
Konare “notes with deep regret that despite all the efforts deployed by the AU, African leaders and international partners … Mr Abdul Wahid of the SLM and Khalil Ibrahim of JEM have failed to sign the DPA”, he said in a statement.
But he also said he was pleased that some members of the two hold-out groups had expressed interest in signing the deal, which was signed on May 5 by Khartoum and the main SLM faction.
Konare “notes with satisfaction the growing number of military and political leaders from the SLM and JEM, who have approached the AU to indicate their desire to be fully involved in the peace process and to be associated with the implementation of the DPA”, the statement said.
“The commission is working on the modalities and mechanisms … on how best to accommodate their requests,” it said.
The peace deal aims to end three years of conflict in Darfur, which has left about 300 000 people dead and 2,4-million homeless.
It calls for a more equitable distribution of power and wealth, the disarming of the pro-government Janjaweed militias and a referendum on the future of Darfur.
But the hold-outs say it fails to address their concerns and have refused to sign on unless substantial changes are made.
Konare warned the two groups that despite their rejection of the deal, they were still bound by a ceasefire agreement and that violations of the truce “will not be tolerated”.
“Any act by any individual or group, including military acts on the ground and all other acts aimed at undermining the DPA [will be regarded] as an affront to the AU and the larger international community,” he said. — AFP