Darfur groups meet to find unity
AU and UN sponsor Arusha meeting which aims to give one voice to Darfur’s factions.
“I fear a very dangerous situation in the camps” of displaced people if there is no rapid progress on the political front, he said.
“It will take some time before all the peacekeepers are deployed. The political process is now at a crucial stage.”
When the deadly conflict erupted in Darfur four and a half years ago, the uprising against the central authority in Khartoum was spearheaded by one group.
Common ground
Now diplomats face the daunting task of finding common ground for a dozen factions.
After a day of preliminary meetings, the talks began late on Friday with Abdel Wahid Mohammed Nur, founder of the Sudan Liberation Movement and member of Darfur’s largest tribe, absent.
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“We regret that Abdel Wahid Nur is not here. We hope that with this decision, he is not excluding himself from the final negotiations we are planning,” Eliasson said.
He however described the Arusha meeting as “highly representative and the widest group of rebels ever assembled.”
The absence of Suleiman Jamous, another important rebel figure who has acted as co-ordinator to allow the delivery of humanitarian aid to the population of Darfur, also overshadowed the Arusha talks.
Nur’s faction contests the legitimacy of the many splinter groups and also argues that talks with the government should only be considered once the new “hybrid force” of UN and AU peacekeepers is deployed.
Yahia Bolad, Nur’s spokesman, said: “The more you recognise individuals as faction leaders by inviting them to talks like those in Arusha, the more factions there will be, and consequently disorder on the ground.”
New peace deal
A Darfur peace deal was reached with the Sudanese government in Abuja, the capital of Nigeria, in May 2006.
But it was only endorsed by one of three Sudanese groups involved in negotiations.
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| The deployment of 26,000 peacekeepers in Darfur may help the political process [AFP] |
Violence has since spiralled and splinter factions have flourished.
In mid-July, however, the leaders of five Sudanese groups gathered in Asmara, the Eritrean capital, and agreed to form an alliance, the United Front for Liberation and Development, and invited other splinter groups to join.
Four groups – including the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) – have adopted a common position in advance of Arusha during a meeting Tuesday in Tripoli, the capital of Libya.
Ahmed Hussein Adam, JEM spokesman, said: “We reach an important time now… We welcomed the resolution on peacekeeping. Despite its shortcomings, it has opened the door for a new political process.
“In Arusha, we are going to see how we can share this new process, for it to be meaningful, comprehensive and inclusive.
“On the real issues, I don’t see any differences between the various groups.”