Palestine
02-05-2006, 14:13
Sudanese rebels are coming under strong pressure to accept a deal to end the conflict in Darfur, as Tuesday's deadline looms for peace talks to end.
Senior US and UK envoys have gone to Nigeria, where the talks have stalled.
The Sudanese government has agreed to sign the African Union-drafted deal, but rebel leaders say the document does not address crucial concerns.
More than 2m people have fled their homes during the conflict, which the US has said is a genocide.
US Deputy Secretary of State Robert Zoellick and UK Development Secretary Hilary Benn are both in the Nigerian capital, Abuja, where the talks were due to end on Sunday, before being extended until midnight on Tuesday.
AU mediator Salim Ahmed Salim urged the black African rebels "to show leadership and make the compromises necessary for peace, for the sake of the people of Darfur".
Reuters news agency quotes a diplomat involved in the mediation as saying that the rebels would be discredited if they reject the deal.
"One of the key points the [rebel} movements have to realise is they don't have a better option and it will be a disaster for them if they reject this deal... If Zoellick can help them realise that, it would be most helpful," the diplomat said.
The UN mission in Sudan has warned that life for Darfur's more than two million displaced people will get much worse if a deal is not signed soon.
Four parties are at the talks in Abuja: the Sudanese government, the pro-government Arab Janjaweed militias, and two rebel groups, the Sudanese Liberation Movement (SLM) and the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM).
The proposed peace deal envisages disarming Janjaweed militia and incorporating rebel fighters into the regular army.
Rebels resolute
The BBC's Alex Last in Abuja says mediators hope that the proposed deal can be amended to increase the number of rebels integrated into the army, while dropping the provision that the Janjaweed disarm before the rebels.
The government is unhappy at this provision, even though it has signed the deal.
But the rebels are also said to be unhappy about arrangements concerning power-sharing and wealth distribution in the vast desert region. They are also reportedly concerned that the peace deal may not be properly implemented.
"The extension of the deadline does not have any meaning for us," said Saifaldin Haroun, spokesman of the main SLM faction, according to the AFP news agency.
"The AU peace proposal does not address our crucial concerns."
Last year, a peace deal was signed with southern rebels which included detailed arrangements on sharing wealth and brought the rebel SPLM into government.
US pressure was instrumental in getting this deal signed.
Sudan's Vice President Ali Osman Taha has now flown home from the talks after accepting the deal in its current form.
Our correspondent says this is not a good sign, though senior Sudanese negotiators remain.
"They [the rebels] will have to be reasonable and they have to pay also a price for this peace," Sudan's Justice Minister Muhammad Ali al-Maradi told the BBC.
Over the last three years at least 200,000 people have died in the conflict, which began when rebel groups began attacking government targets.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/4963930.stm
Senior US and UK envoys have gone to Nigeria, where the talks have stalled.
The Sudanese government has agreed to sign the African Union-drafted deal, but rebel leaders say the document does not address crucial concerns.
More than 2m people have fled their homes during the conflict, which the US has said is a genocide.
US Deputy Secretary of State Robert Zoellick and UK Development Secretary Hilary Benn are both in the Nigerian capital, Abuja, where the talks were due to end on Sunday, before being extended until midnight on Tuesday.
AU mediator Salim Ahmed Salim urged the black African rebels "to show leadership and make the compromises necessary for peace, for the sake of the people of Darfur".
Reuters news agency quotes a diplomat involved in the mediation as saying that the rebels would be discredited if they reject the deal.
"One of the key points the [rebel} movements have to realise is they don't have a better option and it will be a disaster for them if they reject this deal... If Zoellick can help them realise that, it would be most helpful," the diplomat said.
The UN mission in Sudan has warned that life for Darfur's more than two million displaced people will get much worse if a deal is not signed soon.
Four parties are at the talks in Abuja: the Sudanese government, the pro-government Arab Janjaweed militias, and two rebel groups, the Sudanese Liberation Movement (SLM) and the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM).
The proposed peace deal envisages disarming Janjaweed militia and incorporating rebel fighters into the regular army.
Rebels resolute
The BBC's Alex Last in Abuja says mediators hope that the proposed deal can be amended to increase the number of rebels integrated into the army, while dropping the provision that the Janjaweed disarm before the rebels.
The government is unhappy at this provision, even though it has signed the deal.
But the rebels are also said to be unhappy about arrangements concerning power-sharing and wealth distribution in the vast desert region. They are also reportedly concerned that the peace deal may not be properly implemented.
"The extension of the deadline does not have any meaning for us," said Saifaldin Haroun, spokesman of the main SLM faction, according to the AFP news agency.
"The AU peace proposal does not address our crucial concerns."
Last year, a peace deal was signed with southern rebels which included detailed arrangements on sharing wealth and brought the rebel SPLM into government.
US pressure was instrumental in getting this deal signed.
Sudan's Vice President Ali Osman Taha has now flown home from the talks after accepting the deal in its current form.
Our correspondent says this is not a good sign, though senior Sudanese negotiators remain.
"They [the rebels] will have to be reasonable and they have to pay also a price for this peace," Sudan's Justice Minister Muhammad Ali al-Maradi told the BBC.
Over the last three years at least 200,000 people have died in the conflict, which began when rebel groups began attacking government targets.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/4963930.stm