Darfur rebel group calls for Annan mediation with Khartoum

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20080316/wl_afp/sudandarfurunrestunau

KHARTOUM (AFP) - A rebel leader in Sudan's war-torn western region of Darfur on Sunday called for one-on-one peace talks with the Khartoum government under the mediation of former UN secretary general Kofi Annan.
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"We are calling for JEM-government peace talks one to one... Because in reality there are no movements on the ground except JEM," Khalil Ibrahim, leader of the rebel Justice and Equality Movement, told AFP by telephone.

The group has refused to take part in African Union- and UN-sponsored peace talks aimed at ending five years of violence in Darfur where international groups say 200,000 people have died and 2.2 million been displaced.

Ibrahim said his movement was calling for "corrections inside the AU-UN mediation" that has so far failed to make headway in bringing peace.

"We are calling for one single boss. We are calling for institutional reform for the mediation and we are suggesting that Mr Kofi Annan is suitable for heading this negotiation, to lead both the AU and UN," Ibrahim said.

Ghana's Annan secured a power-sharing deal between Kenyan President Mwai Kibaki and opposition leader Raila Odinga last month after a two-month crisis that claimed around 1,500 lives in Sudan's southern neighbour.

UN- and AU-mediated talks on Darfur in the Libyan city of Sirte last October aimed at convincing key rebel leaders to join peace negotiations quickly collapsed after the main rebel groups boycotted the event.

But Ibrahim endorsed Sirte as a venue, instead criticising mediators for inviting multiple rebel factions. "JEM is the only real movement on the ground by natural selection... So why peace talks with many movements?" he asked.

Observers say, however, that JEM and fellow rebel group, the Sudan Liberation Army, have splintered into dozens of warring gangs, compounding the violence and insecurity for civilians, peacekeepers and aid workers.

The JEM leader said he had not raised his proposal for one-on-one talks with either international mediators or the Sudanese government.

His call came one day before the top AU and UN envoys to Darfur, Salim Ahmed Salim and Jan Eliasson, open talks in Geneva between regional and international players that neither Sudan nor any rebel group will attend.

"We want to have a lasting solution for all of Sudan, not just Darfur. That means the mandate of the mediator should be expanded. It should not be restricted to Darfur only. This is important," Ibrahim said.

In Libya, another rebel leader, Abdallah Yahia, said on Sunday that his faction was ready to take part in Sirte negotiations.

"The leadership of the movement underlines its desire to reach a just peace in Sudan and announces its participation in the next round of negotiations in Sirte," said the head of the Sudan Liberation Movement-Unity.

The rebel leader said the negotiations would however have to be restricted to the "military movements on the ground" and no other parties.

The Sudanese military would also have to halt its air strikes on Darfur and a "special international mediator" be appointed," Yahia told reporters, ruling out any forum other than the Sirte process.

Ravaging one of the most remote places on earth, the Darfur conflict pits ethnic minorities fighting for resources and power against state-backed Arab militias.

A joint AU-UN peacekeeping mission eventually billed to number 26,600 troops has deployed just over 9,000 personnel on the ground.
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