SUDAN: Darfur's warring parties appeared to move closer together at peace talks in the Nigerian capital Abuja yesterday, as rebels and government officials considered American modifications to a proposed peace deal.
The Khartoum government has already said it would sign the agreement drafted by African Union mediators. But two deadlines have come and gone since Sunday with the rebels unable to agree terms.
Yesterday, American officials revised the wording of the draft, offering greater detail on power-sharing and disarmament plans.
Jaffer Monro, spokesman for the main rebel Sudanese Liberation Army (SLA), said: "I think a deal is possible now, and I am confident that if the key changes meet our position then we are obliged to make an agreement."
The deadlocked talks were extended for a second time at midnight on Tuesday, to allow a further 48 hours for Hilary Benn, the British international development secretary, and Robert Zoellick, US deputy secretary of state, to shuttle between rebel and government leaders.
The modifications spelled out how rebel troops would be incorporated into the Sudanese national armed forces, and offered speedier disarmament of Janjaweed militias.
Abdulrahman Zuma, Sudanese government spokesman, said: "Through this so-called American initiative, it seems that the government is going to make some concessions, especially about reintegration and disarmament." More than 200,000 people have been killed and some two million forced to flee their homes since rebels took up arms against the Arab-dominated regime in Khartoum. The government responded with a "scorched earth" offensive, unleashing the Janjaweed militias on villages suspected of harbouring rebels.
In recent weeks the violence has spilled into neighbouring Chad, where rebels suspected of links with Khartoum have launched a series of audacious attacks on government forces.
Analysts fear fighting in Darfur could destabilise the entire region. Last week the African Union unveiled a proposed peace agreement which would see the creation of a semi-autonomous Darfur transitional authority and bring rebel fighters into government security forces and the Khartoum administration.
However, the terms fell short of rebel expectations. They want Darfur to be represented by a vice-president within the national government, mirroring a deal struck last year to end a separate two-decade war in the south of Sudan. At present, the draft agreement specifies merely the appointment of an adviser to the president. They also complained that the deal gave too little detail on how the Janjaweed were to be disarmed.
"The new proposals effectively call the government's bluff. Sudan is an international pariah and thought it could come out of the talks looking good by agreeing to sign a deal it had no intention of implementing when it knew the rebels were going to walk away," said a Sudan analyst in Nairobi. "This puts all the pressure back on Khartoum."