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SIRTE - The Sudanese Government declared an immediate unilateral ceasefire in Darfur yesterday at the opening session of talks aimed at ending 4 1/2 years of violence in the troubled region.
"We announce a ceasefire from this moment, and we will respect it unilaterally," Sudanese presidential adviser Nafie Ali Nafie told the gathering in the Libyan town of Sirte.
There was no immediate reaction from rebel groups, but the absence of key rebel leaders from the talks cast doubt on whether anything decided at the gathering could produce meaningful results.
On the eve of the African Union-United Nations-mediated talks, two main rebel groups - the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) and the Sudan Liberation Army Unity faction - said they would not attend. That decision emerged after another rebel chief, Abdel Wahed Mohamed el-Nur, founder of a third group, the Sudan Liberation Army (SLA), said he would not travel to Libya for the talks.
JEM-SLA Unity represent the biggest military threat to the Sudanese Government and Nur has the most popular support among Darfuris. Analysts say that without their representation in Libya peace talks had little chance of success.
The talks are the first attempt to gather Darfur rebels and the Government around a negotiating table since 2006.
- Reuters
