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Darfur rebels accuse AU mediation of siding with Sudan's gov't

Xinhua, August 19, 2016 Adjust font size:

Rebel armed movements in Sudan's Darfur region have accused the African Union (AU) mediation of siding with the Sudanese government, refuting that they were behind the collapse of recent peace talks.

The Darfur rebel Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) and the Sudan Liberation Army (SLA) on Thursday issued a statement in which they lashed out at the AU High-Level Implementation Panel (AUHIP), led by Thabo Mbeki, which earlier blamed the two movements for the collapse of the recent peace talks on Darfur region.

"The African mechanism has put itself in an unenviable position regarding the stalemate of the talks of cessation of hostilities in the recent round," the two movements said in the statement.

"Instead of seeking to push the government to change its obstinate stances, the mediation adopted the government's stances and blamed the parties which expressed the highest degree of flexibility and objectivity," the statement said.

On Wednesday, the AU mediation issued a statement blaming the rebel groups for the failure of the most recent peace talks between the Sudanese rivals regarding the South Kordofan, Blue Nile and Darfur regions.

It said the armed movements caused the talks to fail as they "reopened numerous issues that had previously been agreed upon and others that contradicted the Roadmap Agreement."

Last Sunday, Thabo Mbeki, head of the AUHIP, declared suspension of the Sudanese peace talks indefinitely amid exchanged accusations among the negotiating parties.

The Sudan People's Liberation Movement/northern sector has been fighting the Sudanese government at South Kordofan and Blue Nile areas since 2011, while rebel armed groups, including the JEM and the SLA have been fighting the government in Darfur region since 2003. Endit