Darfur Cessation of Violence Expected Ahead of Peace Talks

Rebels from Darfur and the Sudanese government are expected to declare a complete cessation of hostilities across the country's war-torn western region this weekend when they meet for peace talks in Libya on Saturday.

UN officials who have worked with the African Union to bring the sides together describe the truce as a vital step towards convincing skeptics that Darfur's escalating war can be stopped.

More than 50,000 people have had to flee their homes this month alone after clashes in two towns. African Union peace keepers have been powerless to stop them. In one rebel attack, the AU lost 10 soldiers when their base in Haskanita was overrun. Aid agency vehicle hijackings have increased by 150% over the last year, and humanitarian workers can only move around by helicopter.

Since the war began four years ago, the rebels have split into a score of factions and 88 rebel delegates are expected at the talks. The rebels have failed to come up with a unified negotiating strategy in spite of promises made at preparatory talks in Tanzania three months ago to the two mediators, Jan Eliasson, a former foreign minister of Sweden, and the AU's Salim Salim. They reject an earlier Darfur Peace Agreement (DPA) signed in Nigeria last year, and the new talks are meant to adjust it to meet some of their concerns.

Muammar Gadafy is hosting the talks in Sirte, Libya. After two days of speeches, attended by the US, Britain, France, and several of Sudan's neighbors, they are expected to break into informal consultations for another three weeks. "We want to give people an opportunity to meet and have some space together," said a senior UN official.

He described the truce as a "political commitment that they will not fight and talk" and "a recognition of the credibility of the process". An earlier ceasefire which was agreed in the second year of war is widely discredited, since it not only failed to stop the killing but AU monitors often took months to investigate violations.

This time there will be a quicker mechanism for checking violations. International monitors including UN security council members will take part. "All we need is a flexible arrangement so that attacks like Haskanita can be investigated quickly," the UN official said.

Elzubair Bashir Taha, Sudan's interior minister, said the government saw the declaration of a cessation of hostilities as "a good gesture". "We support it. It's a kind of political stance to pave the way to peace. It's not as firm as a ceasefire ... but it will help to generate a peace culture," he said yesterday.

Abdul Wahid, a leader of the Fur tribe who enjoys strong popularity among the displaced people in camps across Darfur, is refusing to attend the Libya talks, casting serious doubt on their chances of success. He lives in France and Sudanese government officials have urged President Nicolas Sarkozy's government to threaten him with expulsion if he does not come.

UN mediators have also been seeking to persuade him to give the talks a chance.