AU, UK, US prepare new Darfur peace proposal

AU mediators joined by senior US and British officials are preparing a substantially changed Darfur peace proposal after rebels rejected the original draft, said two Sudanese close to the negotiations who saw the new document Wednesday.

The two Sudanese, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the new proposal was not yet official, said it was aimed at meeting rebel demands for a greater share of power and wealth.

Full report AP/ST May 3, 2006.

Note, the report says that earlier, Jaffer Monro, spokesman for SLM, said if the initial proposal was not significantly changed, the rebels would press for the UN or another body to take over the peace talks from the AU. [This is what the rebels have wanted all along over the past two years - they are anti AU troops and mediators]



Photo: US Deputy Secretary of State, Robert B. Zoellick, center, and US Charge d'Affaires in Khartoum, Cameron Hume, left, meet with leaders of the JEM, one of the Darfur rebel factions, at Darfur peace talks in Abuja, Nigeria Tuesday, May 2, 2006. (AP Photo/Sunday Alamba)

When asked late Tuesday what would happen if there is no agreement by Thursday, chief AU mediator Salim Ahmed Salim said: "There will be continued killing, continued suffering, and all the destruction that has been going on."



Photo: UK Minister Hilary Benn speaks in Khartoum after a visit to Darfur, February 2006. (AFP/Salah Omar)