Zoellick travels to Darfur peace talks

The BBC's Alex Last, reporting from the peace talks in Abuja, says so far [17:22 GMT 18:22 UK] there has been no breakthrough and the prospects do not look good. Excerpt:

Chief AU mediator Salim Ahmed Salim told the BBC the rebels had come to the talks in Abuja with their minds made up, and had simply been repeating their demands.

"They [the rebels] will have to be reasonable and they have to pay also a price for this peace," Sudan's Justice Minister Muhammad Ali al-Maradi told the BBC.

US Deputy Secretary of State Robert Zoellick will travel to Abuja [today] in a bid to hammer out an agreement before Tuesday's midnight deadline, AFP news agency reports.

The BBC's Africa Analyst Martin Plaut says the talks in Abuja are a last effort attempt to maintain the fading credibility of the AU, while preventing the flames of war from spreading beyond the borders of Sudan.

DARFUR DRAFT PEACE PLAN
Pro-government Janjaweed militia to be disarmed
Rebel fighters to be incorporated into army
One-off transfer of $300m to Darfur
$200m a year for the region thereafter

Note, Eugene at CfD links to Bloomberg report Zoellick Headed to Stalled Negotiations