Darfur rebels withdraw from peace talks citing government attacks

Peace talks to end the Darfur conflict were stalled on Tuesday after rebel groups withdrew in protest at ceasefire violations by the government in Khartoum. The Sudan Liberation Movement/Army (SLM/A) and the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) walked out of talks in the Nigerian capital, Abuja, late Monday -- the first day of face-to-face negotiations. "We’re suspending the talks until the situation on the ground improves and there is a clear commitment that the Sudanese government will stop the offensive,” SLM/A spokesman Bahar Ibrahim told IRIN on Tuesday. The Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) said it was suspending participation because of ceasefire violations but also because it wants Khartoum to release those of its members being held in prison. “If these two conditions are met, we will go back to the talks,” JEM spokesman Ahmed Tugod Lissan said. Monitors from the 53-member African Union, which is sponsoring this fourth round of negotiations, have reported ceasefire violations by both sides in recent months. The conflict in western Sudan has raged for almost two years and driven more than 1.6 million people from their homes. Sudanese government representatives condemned the rebel walkout, and defended Khartoum's attacks, saying they were retaliatory and aimed at clearing roads blocked by rebels and at protecting civilians. “If the rebels stop the violations we will stop the retaliations,” Ibrahim Mohammed, the government delegation's spokesman, told IRIN. He said Khartoum was ready to continue the talks. "Only negotiation and talks will solve the problem of Darfur. Withdrawal from the talks means more trouble for Darfur." AU mediators spent the day struggling to haul the peace effort back on track, meeting the rebels and the Sudanese government separately to try to find some common ground for talks to resume. “We have been holding consultations today with all the parties and we hope to reconvene soon,” said AU spokesman Assane Ba, without elaborating on when that might be. The Darfur conflict erupted in February 2003 when the rebels took up arms against the government, saying Khartoum had neglected and oppressed the region for years. The Sudanese government tried to put down the rebellion using an Arab militia, known as the Janjawid, which is accused of targeting civilians in a campaign of murder, rape and arson. The UN calls Darfur the world's worst humanitarian crisis. Tens of thousands of people have died and about 2.3 million more are in desperate need of aid. The AU had hoped to wrap up the fourth round of peace talks by 22 December, having made progress on establishing a political roadmap to bring the region out of war. But the negotiations have been peppered with delays. The late arrival of some delegates delayed the opening ceremony by a day until Saturday and power cuts have forced the talks to adjourn. Political discussions have been put on the back-burner because previous accords, dealing with humanitarian and security issues and signed at the last round of talks in November, have unravelled. And now the rebels are staging a boycott. While the discussions shuddered to a halt in Abuja, talks began in the Chadian capital, N'djamena, on Tuesday between the Sudanese government and a third Darfur rebel group, the National Movement for Reform and Development (MNRD). The MNRD, a new-to-emerge group, is negotiating independently with Khartoum although many of its demands are also shared by the two main rebel groups and Chad's Foreign Minister was quick to point out that mediators in N'djamena were complementing the Abuja initiative and not pulling in the opposite direction.