Darfur rebels said on Thursday they will respect a ceasefire and are willing to go back to the negotiating table after a meeting with United Nations and African Union envoys.
UN envoy for Darfur Jan Eliasson and his AU counterpart Salim Ahmed Salim on Wednesday met rebel commanders in Darfur who rejected a May 2006 peace deal.
”We will respect the … ceasefire and … once we have our commanders’ conference we will attend peace negotiations,” Darfur rebel commander Jar el-Neby told Reuters from the field.
Neby represents one of the largest of about a dozen rebel factions.
Commanders who rejected the May peace deal say they want more political representation, compensation for war victims and a role in disarming the militia known as Janjaweed, accused of the some of the worst atrocities.
Only one of three rebel negotiating factions signed the 2006 deal.
The rebels have since fragmented into numerous factions and a conference to try and unite their position has been delayed many times, twice because of government bombardment. It is due to begin on February 19.
Eliasson and Salim on a joint mission are trying to reignite the peace process. Uniting the rebel factions would be a first step on that road. Rebel division was the main reason for the collapse of many previous rounds of talks.
Rebels have in the past rejected AU mediation of any new talks because the pan-African body mediated the first peace deal, which they said was biased.
”We will now be happy with mediation from the UN and the AU,” said Neby after meeting Salim and Eliasson.
Experts estimate about 200 000 have been killed and 2,5-million driven from their homes in four years of conflict in Darfur. Washington calls the violence genocide, a term European governments are reluctant to use and Khartoum rejects.
The International Criminal Court is investigating alleged war crimes in Darfur and has said it hoped to present its first case this month. — Reuters