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Darfur meeting pushes for wider rebel presence
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Darfur meeting pushes for wider rebel presence
Participants at Darfur peace talks are trying to persuade absent rebel chiefs to abandon a boycott and come to Libya to help efforts to end violence in the Sudanese region, rebels said yesterday. As discussions moved into a second day, rebels attending the gathering in the Libyan town of Sirte said wider participation was needed to give the meeting a greater chance of ending 4-1/2 years of bloodshed in the devastated western region.
?The factions attending the meeting have agreed for more talks to address the participation of all those who are not attending, and today the gathering will continue in this path,? said rebel delegate Alhadi Agabeldour. ?Nothing will be decided, including any endorsement of the ceasefire, until this goal is achieved ? more participation of the movements. The most we could achieve from this meeting is to give more time for more participation of the other rebels.?
Another delegate, Ahmed Ibrahim Diraige, said: ?There are contacts under way to bring the others.? Many rebel leaders are not attending the gathering, complaining of ?government-inspired violence? and a refusal by UN mediators to heed requests for a delay to allow them to form a united position and agree on a delegation.
<B>Accusations of genocide</B>
The African Union-United Nations-mediated conference seeks to end a conflict that has sparked US accusations ? dismissed by Sudan ? of genocide. Much of the killing has been blamed on a government-allied militia known as the Janjaweed. Recently rebels have been blamed for attacks on African Union peacekeepers. At the talks? opening on Saturday the Sudanese government declared an immediate unilateral ceasefire, but the absence of key rebels cast doubt on whether the move could produce meaningful progress.
<B>Lamine GHANMI</B>
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