New round of Darfur peace talks begins in Doha

Despite speculation about postponement of a new round of talks between representatives of some Darfurian armed movements and the government of Sudan, the talks started in Doha. Head of the government delegation, Amin Hassan Omar, said the government is prepared to negotiate with representatives of the movements. He rebuffed any attempts to dictate preconditions before the start of the negotiations.

Spokesman of the Justice and Equality movement Ahmed Hussein Adam said his movement is ready to sit down with the rest of the armed movements to form a unified but also a plausible negotiating mechanism. Speaking to Radio Dabanga from Doha, Ahmed added that the government was never serious about achieving peace in Darfur. He added the government’s delegation in Qatar was merely seeking to buy time in order to be able to secure a deal for a cease-fire without making any concessions. “Our movement simply does not accept such tactics” Ahmed concluded.

A senior elder speaking from Kalma camp, Sheikh Ali Ibrahim Al Tahir said IDPs in all Darfur camps were not aware of any talks and yet he added they would not empower anyone to speak on their behalf.