Darfur rebel group agrees to deal with Khartoum

AFP, Monday 3 Jan 2011

A Darfur alliance of rebel factions said on Monday that it has agreed to sign a final peace settlement with Khartoum

The Liberation and Justice Movement (LJM) "confirms that negotiations have come to an end and the movement is awaiting the final peace document," its leader Al-Tijani al-Sisi told reporters in the Qatari capital.

The group, in a statement, said it had "received the mediators' reply over disputed issues on December 30" and "decided to accept" the proposals ahead of "a complete and final agreement to be signed" by all sides. It did not give any details.

Last Thursday, the Sudanese government's special adviser on Darfur, Ghazi Salaheddine, said Khartoum had recalled its delegation from Qatar but without withdrawing from the negotiations.

The Khartoum government has for several months been trying to secure a comprehensive peace agreement with all rebel groups in the Darfur region of western Sudan.

The LJM was expected to finalise a peace deal with Khartoum in mid-December after agreeing a ceasefire last March, but the accord has yet to be signed.

Darfur has been gripped by a civil war since 2003 that has claimed 300,000 lives and displaced 2.7 million people, according to UN figures. Khartoum says 10,000 people have died in the conflict.

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