Darfur enemies get extra 48 hours to make peace

Mediators from the African Union agreed in the early hours of Monday to give the warring parties from Darfur a 48 hour-extension to strike a peace deal after a midnight deadline expired. Full story by Estelle Shirbon, Reuters. Excerpt:

"To be frank, it has often been frustrating for all of us to deal with you," [chief AU mediator] Salim told the rebels during the plenary.

"The Abuja process has provided you with recognition and a platform ... Should you decide to walk away from Abuja without an agreement, you should not count on the same recognition and the same opportunities for political primacy," he said.

Note, the draft peace agreement requires the government to disarm the Janjaweed. The above report explains:

This provision is particularly problematic for the government because there are many tribal militias in Darfur that are considered legitimate by their communities, and Khartoum does not want to find itself having to disarm these. Also, there is some contention on how to verify Janjaweed disarmament.

The rebels want some of their fighters to be integrated into the Sudanese armed forces and they have complained that the AU draft does not meet this demand to their satisfaction.

See Apr 28 2006 Darfur's SLM/A rebels refuse to disarm until after end of six-year transition period