Rebels reject Libyan ideas
2004-12-21 09:13
Abuja - Sudan's two main rebel movements on Monday rejected Libya's latest initiative to resolve the Darfur crisis as African Union mediators set Tuesday as the end of the current round of talks.
"They (the AU mediation and Libyan teams) want to know our new position on the new (Libyan) initiative. We clearly stated that at this specific moment, we don't need any new initiative," a spokesperson for the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM), Ahmed Tugod, said on behalf of Darfur's two rebel movements.
Tugod said the rebels had accepted the AU's conclusion that the Sudanese government should withdraw its forces immediately back to the positions it held before an April 8 ceasefire.
He argued that the Libyan proposal would merely duplicate ongoing efforts to resolve the crisis.
The JEM leader added that both rebel groups had been asked to return for a closing session of talks at 10am (0900 GMT) on Tuesday.
Tugod was speaking after AU mediators and senior Libyan envoy Ali Triki held talks with delegates from Khartoum and both of Darfur's rebel groups aimed at getting the stalled peace conference back on track.
In stark contrast with his comments, the Sudanese delegation at the talks expressed its full support for the Libyan initiative.
"We as the government of Sudan fully agree with this (Libyan) initiative to facilitate the peace, ceasefire and improve the security situation on the ground and to move forward the comprehensive solution on Darfur," Majzoub Al-Khlaifa, head of the Khartoum delegation, told reporters.
Talks to end the 22-month-old conflict in the western Sudanese province broke down last week when the rebel JEM and Sudan Liberation Movement (SLM) walked out in protest at a renewed army offensive against their positions.
Under the new Libyan proposal, endorsed by Chad and Nigeria, all parties would be asked to commit to an immediate ceasefire in line with the Ndjamena agreement of April 8 and to withdraw their forces from all positions taken thereafter.
Libya also suggested setting up a committee with representatives from the AU, the AU's ceasefire committee, Chad, the JEM and the SLM, Khartoum, Libya and Nigeria in order to map out the troop withdrawal.
The group would work in cooperation with the AU ceasefire committee to ensure the commitment of the various parties to return to the positions they occupied on April 8, according to a text of the proposals.
"All parties should be committed to the opening up of roads and alleys to facilitate the free flow of humanitarian assistance as well as express their determination to continue negotiations in Abuja with the aim of reaching a political solution for the crisis and acceptable to all parties," it added.
On Sunday, after coming under intense international pressure, the government announced that it would withdraw its troops to positions they held in April when the truce was signed as long as the rebels agreed to do likewise.