Darfur conflict talks delayed
2004-04-20 20:21
Ndjamena - Talks set for Tuesday between warring sides in western Sudan's Darfur region have been delayed by a day, a member of the Chadian mediation team told reporters.
The Sudanese government delegation is expected to arrive in Ndjamena, the Chadian capital, later on Tuesday.
Some representatives of the rebel Sudan Liberation Movement (SLM) and the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) have already arrived, the mediator said.
The two sides are to meet on political issues with the aim of finding a definitive settlement to the 14-month-old conflict, which has claimed up to 10 000 lives.
In a surprise truce agreed April 8 under Chadian mediation, the government and rebels from the JEM and the SLM pledged to guarantee safe passage for humanitarian aid to Darfur, free prisoners of war and disarm Arab militias blamed for most of the violence there.
The ceasefire is the third declared in the conflict, described by the United Nations as currently the world's worst humanitarian and human rights catastrophe. The first two truces were short-lived.
The JEM has alleged numerous violations of the latest ceasefire, but Khartoum has denied the claims.
A UN spokesperson said in Geneva on Tuesday that Sudan will let a UN team into the country within days to probe alleged atrocities by government-backed militia in Darfur after initially denying them entry.