Rebel ‘whereabouts’ risk to fail Darfur peace talks

By Addis Getachew

ADDIS ABABA (AA) - Cease-fire talks between the Sudanese government and rebel groups in the western Darfur province are on the verge of collapse as the government requests the disclosure of the rebel “whereabouts” before reaching any deal.

Talks aimed at ceasing hostilities between the two sides began in the Ethiopian capital of Addis Ababa on Wednesday and are expected to close later Sunday.

The government says that there would not be an agreement on the cessation of hostilities unless the rebel groups disclose their locations.

“How can I sign a cessation of hostilities [agreement] before the other side discloses their locations,” the head of government delegation, Amin Hassan Omar, told Anadolu Agency.

He said the disclosure of the rebel “whereabouts” would be a requisite for the cessation of hostilities in Darfur.

Rebel leader Jibril Ibrahim, for his part, rejected the government condition for reaching a cessation-of-hostilities agreement.

“There is no cessation of hostilities agreement anywhere in the world that discloses the locations of the enemy pinpoint. This never happened actually,” he said.

“When you come to final cease-fire arrangements you agree to contain your people [fighters] to cantons. And there you decide the sites with precision,” Ibrahim said.

Ibrahim accused government forces of bombing Darfur on Friday and Saturday.

“How can I tell them the position of my forces with the GPS so that they can hit them? I can’t do that,” he said, going on to accuse the government of “abrogating” the unilateral cease-fire it declared in June.

Last week, four Sudanese opposition groups signed a roadmap agreement proposed by African Union mediators paving the way for substantive dialogue in Sudan.

The agreement calls for all-inclusive national dialogue, a cessation of hostilities and a permanent cease-fire, as well as humanitarian access to populations affected by Sudan’s ongoing conflicts.

Darfur has been the scene of a ferocious war between the Sudanese government and three rebel movements since 2003. The conflict has left 300,000 people dead and around 2.5 million others displaced, according to UN figures.

The Sudanese government, however, insists that the death toll does not exceed 10,000 people.