Gov't, Darfur rebels extend ceasefire for one month

The government of Sudan and the rebel group operating in Darfur, the Sudan Liberation Movement/Army (SLM/A), extended a ceasefire agreement for one month on Tuesday in the Chadian town of Abeche. The SLM/A spokesman, Ahmad Abd al-Shafi, told IRIN that although the agreement had been renewed, key issues still had not been resolved. Nevertheless, a committee comprising representatives from the Chadian government - which is mediating peace talks between the two sides - the Sudanese government and the SLM/A would continue to meet, he said. A ceasefire agreement between the two sides expired on 18 October. Abd al-Shafi said the SLM/A group had a number of demands which were not being addressed by the government. Most importantly, it wanted international observers present at the peace talks and on the ground to monitor the ceasefire; the disarmament of the Arab militias in Darfur; recognition that the SLM/A is a political movement and not a group of 'bandits'; and the equitable sharing of Sudan's resources in all areas, including Darfur. Muhammad Ahmad Dirdeiry, Sudan's deputy ambassador to Kenya, told IRIN that Chad was mediating the talks, and that there was no need to involve other countries. "Our position is that we don't need to internationalise the issue," he said. He said the Darfur conflict was "a local conflict", which had started because of drought in the region, and banditry, but that the government did accept that it had "a political dimension". The SLM/A has accused the Chadian mediators of favouring the government, and of trying to pressurise the rebel group into signing a peace agreement. Meanwhile, the rebel group is continuing to accuse government forces of both aerial attacks and of backing Arab militias, called Janjaweed, which are attacking and killing civilians, looting their property and pushing them off their land. Since March over over half a million people have been displaced in Darfur on top of 70,000 who have fled to neighbouring Chad. On Monday, militias burned eight villages in the Jabal Marrah area, killing over 20 people, said Abd al-Shafi, while last week government forces bombed areas around Kulbus and Karnoi in western Darfur and the Jabal Marrah area, killing over 30 people. The government denies backing the militias, and with no independent monitors on the ground, the alleged attacks and killings are impossible to verify. A military spokesman, Gen Muhammad Bashir Sulayman, reportedly admitted that some aerial attacks had taken place over the weekend in northern Darfur, but said they were targeting a different rebel group, the smaller Justice and Equality Movement. The Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) also received reports of the Sudanese government bombing rebel positions close to Tini on the Chadian border on 24 October, but there were no casualties or refugee influxes reported. UNHCR staff have been told by local sources that the town of Kulbus, on the Chadian border in Western Darfur, was retaken by Sudanese forces two weeks ago. While there is no confirmation of this, staff have frequently observed Sudanese helicopters and aircraft patrolling the area. Chad has also beefed up its security presence along the border around Tine and Birak.