Sudan Signs Peace Deal With Darfur Rebel Group

KHARTOUM, Sudan — The Sudanese government and a small rebel group from the country's troubled Darfur region signed a peace deal Thursday, but the two main rebel factions were absent from the ceremony.

Thursday's signing in the Qatari capital of Doha was attended by Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir, representatives from Darfur's Justice and Liberation Movement as well as officials from the U.N. and the African Union.

The deal is meant to provide a basis for a cease-fire, power sharing, equal distribution of wealth and compensation for displaced people.

Darfur has been in turmoil since fighting broke out in 2003 between ethnic African rebels and the government, aided by Arab militias. African rebels accuse the government of discrimination and neglect. The U.N. says 300,000 people have died in the conflict and 2.7 million have fled their homes.

Darfur's two main rebel factions, the Justice and Equality Movement and the Sudan Liberation Movement, were not part of Thursday's deal.

"I am not optimistic about this deal since the only rebel partner that signed it has no weight in the region," said Osama Ali, a Khartoum-based analyst. He said the agreement does not provide a mechanism for implementation and international guarantees.

The main Darfur rebel factions backed away from signing the deal because it failed to specify how to resolve key issues, such as appointing a vice president from among the rebels who would enjoy full authority in running the region's affairs, Ali said.

Rebels also demand to turn Darfur into one region instead of three, he added.

Previous peace talks between the government and Darfur's key groups have fallen apart and were marred by renewed clashes between government and rebel forces.

Comments

[Staxx]

03:07 AM on 07/15/2011

Yep, divide and conquer!

[melchar]

11:18 PM on 07/14/2011

imagine that--Bashir so demonized and villified by the western press has achieved three great events for the 21st century: The Peace Deal with the South;The independence of the South; and now a peace deal with Darfur! How often have we in the modern era afterthe end of colonialism witnessed the selfdetermination or independence of the sort that South Sudan has seen? But dont expect the western media to give him any credit. But i would love to see how they ignore, downplay or disparage these accomplishments!

[jayrag123]

12:47 AM on 07/15/2011

Omar al bashir it seems is trying to make peace in Sudan.
He was accused of genocide for backing the Arab tribes who were attacking African muslim tribes. I don'tthink he had any control over the janjaweed arabs, but he did give them weapons and paid the leaders to attack rebellious African muslims.
I believe he is making peace now so that the US and NATO wont start a drone war against his forces.

[melchar]

01:08 AM on 07/15/2011

The Peace process in South Sudan and Darfur is decades long. You sound smart enough to know that the last sentence is nonsense.

[mommamia526]

01:13 AM on 07/15/2011

Ah, maybe he is tired of war and has a lot of common sense and a taste for a better life. I had not heard of him, but if what Melchar described is the case, this guy is one smart and realistic cookie. Africa appears to be on the move. Morocco, Egypt, Libya, Sudan, and there are big cities developing.

[aztrukin]

10:58 PM on 07/14/2011

The new global leaders in peace. Wonder if they will get a Nobel too.

[lqw]

04:49 PM on 07/14/2011

Wow ! if these is true congratulations. 
I hope the violence ends.
And it didn't take the US drones to bring peace. Amazing!!!

[jayrag123]

04:20 PM on 07/14/2011

Sudan needs to be broken up one more time.
The ethnic African muslims of Darfur need their OWN country just like the Dinka Christians were allowed to have in the new country of South Sudan.
Historically Darfur was never part of Sudan but was occupied by the Sudanese conquerors.

[melchar]

11:13 PM on 07/14/2011

Are you kidding me? You dont think that allowing 1/3rd of an entire country gaining independence is enough--you ant more of the country to be broken off into separate regions?

[jayrag123]

12:52 AM on 07/15/2011

Darfur was historically an independent area but was conquered by the Sudanese muslim and arabs.
Until Darfur is granted independence from Arab Sudan the African muslims will fight.

[mommamia526]

03:02 PM on 07/14/2011

Hm. Let us hope that all Sudanese factions have men as smart as those who came to that conclusion. Yes, PEACE is for Development. Expansion of trade and interaction expands opportunities. There are severe limits to growth in a closed environment. Any day, soon now, the Palestinians will also come to this conclusion.

[Jay-DC]

07:16 PM on 07/14/2011

yes, you're right mommamia...any day now. Once the Jordan Valley has been totally colonized, and East Jerusalem cleansed of the Palestinians, and all the Arabs are in Jordan where they belong.

Israel is certainly headed in that direction. What do you think 20 or 30 years before Israel's final solution is complete?

[mommamia526]

12:50 AM on 07/15/2011

Oh, come on now, Jay-DC! Jerusalem is not going to be cleansed of Palestinians. No one wants the Palestinians out. Not even the Palestinians themselves. The Palestinians in E. Jerusalem want to remain under Israeli leadership. Not a few Palestinians are moving Westwards, to be sure to remain under Israeli leadership.

A colony, darling, is a settlement of foreigners, who have their own country elsewhere. They are in those foreign countries to do trade, make profits, build, develop enterprises. In some of the old colonies, such as Indonesia, fromerly the Dutch East Indies, generations of Dutch, and others, a.o. Chinese lived there and inermarried, and most returned home after their working years were up, and regularly in between. The Chinese in Indonesia, when it was still the Dutch East Indies, wwere called peranakans, by the natives, specifically, because they returned home.

In The Netherlands you have, even today, whole families with both Indonesian and Dutch branches, and...often you guess wrong, because the Indonesian looking branches have Dutch members, and vice versa. If you get to the core of it, it is the Palestinians who are the colonizers in Israel. Especially is that the case if they are there to make a good living.

[mommamia526]

12:59 AM on 07/15/2011

II @ Jay-DC. Now, I know that when you get to the end of my first part, you will blow up, out of control. But, darling, I am looking at a different perspective than you are. I am looking at economics, trade, enterprise, making a living. The Arabs do not all belong in Jordan, not a few of them are elsewhere. Do I dare mention S. Arabia, Bahrain, Syria? And let us not forget Lebanon. Making PEACE will expand physical and trade horizons, as well as developmental horizons. Although Israelis are learning Arabic, the Palestinians will be needed and will be able to make a lot of money, in all sorts of ways. That will especially be the case if they preserve the historic monuments, rather than destroy those. Historic monuments are a good source of tourist industry, that, my dear, means money in the pocket, and in the bank! I know not a few Lebanese, friends of my children, with split families, fathers in Lebanon, mothers and kids in the U.S., for example. They will not return home, even though Lebanon is a beautiful country, and the family is there. They have learned skills, earned degrees, and have built enterprises. In Lebanon, they can not use their skills, or even buy a home. And there are forever attacks, murders, there is mayhem and uproar.

[ikenwan]

02:07 PM on 07/14/2011

A grand gesture like this can't solve anything in Darfur because it cuts out the major players.