Darfur peace deal in doubt

Peace talks on Sudan's Darfur region remain very fluid and chances of a deal are "50-50" as a deadline nears, senior mediators said yesterday after rebels reiterated objections to a proposed peace plan.

The government of Sudan said earlier it was ready to sign the plan drafted by African Union (AU) mediators who set a deadline for the warring parties to sign by the end of yesterday.

"The situation is very fluid," said Sam Ibok, head of the AU mediation team at the talks in the Nigerian capital Abuja.

The draft agreement is the result of tough negotiations on security, wealth-sharing and power-sharing that have dragged on for two years while the conflict in Darfur has escalated.

Jan Pronk, UN special envoy for Sudan, accused some of the rebels of seeking to reopen the entire negotiation. Missing the deadline by a few hours to fine-tune a deal was an option, but a major new round of talks was not, he said.

"If the government is willing to sign, after all the wrongdoings of the past and of today... those parties that will not sign will be held responsible and there will be political consequences," he said.

Those might include sanctions imposed by the UN Security Council, which has already imposed a travel ban and a freeze on assets abroad on four Sudanese - two from the government side and two rebel leaders - suspected of abuses in Darfur.

Mr Pronk and Mr Ibok spoke after one of the factions of the Sudan Liberation Army (SLA) and the smaller Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) rebel group listed their objections to the AU's 85-page draft peace settlement. The other SLA faction had given its own views earlier which were judged more encouraging.

The rebels have a series of objections on issues ranging from political representation to compensation and plans for their forces to be disarmed. But observers say they have little to gain by rejecting the AU's proposed agreement.

Mr Pronk said chances that the rebels would sign the agreement were "50-50 at the moment... I hope they come to their senses."

Rebels took up arms in early 2003 in ethnically mixed Darfur, an arid region the size of France, over what they saw as neglect by the Arab-dominated central government.

Khartoum used militias, known locally as Janjaweed and drawn from Arab tribes, to crush the rebellion. The fighting has killed tens of thousands of people while a campaign of arson, looting and rape has driven more than two million from their homes into refugee camps in Darfur and neighbouring Chad.

All sides have continued fighting despite a 2004 ceasefire, according to the AU, which has 7,000 peacekeepers in Darfur, and aid groups say violence prevents them from delivering food and medicine to tens of thousands of refugees.

The AU's peace plan requires the government to disarm Janjaweed militias it has used as a counter-insurgency force before the rebels lay down their weapons and diplomats say Khartoum's acceptance of this is a major breakthrough.

"The government... wishes to confirm its decision to formally accept this document and its readiness to sign it," said a statement from Majzoub al-Khalifa, head of the government's negotiating team.