Sudan's government and rebels have wrapped up a first day of new Darfur peace talks, trying to break a deadlock over key security issues keeping aid workers from reaching hundreds of thousands of refugees in the western region of Sudan.
The rebels said Monday they were calling for a security agreement before signing a humanitarian accord. That demand led to the failure of talks in Nigeria a month ago, and many are skeptical the new talks will fare any better.
"Although I should have reasons for being optimistic, I am not," said Abulrahman Zuma, a press adviser to the Sudanese government and a delegate at the African Union-brokered meeting in the capital, Abuja.
One of the two rebel groups, the Justice and Equality Movement, accused the government of bombing towns and villages where some its key bases in eastern Darfur are located, saying the attacks, which took place in recent days, cast doubt over the likely success of the talks.
"As a result of the bombardment, about 7,000 people have been displaced," said rebel official Ahmed Tugod Lissan. "We believe this is the policy of the government, and they have not decided to solve the matter politically."
But Sudanese officials said government forces were simply defending their own positions from rebel attack -- not targeting civilians or insurgents.
Monday's talks ended earlier than expected after rebels objected to an African Union plan calling on them to meet directly with government officials to iron out a specific agenda for talks on security in Darfur.
Talks were to continue yesterday with the focus shifting to political issues, delegates said.
The rebels want the African Union, which is chairing the talks, to meet with each side separately to determine the agenda before starting face-to-face talks with the government.
"There isn't any trust between us and the government," said the leader of the rebel Sudan Liberation Army, Abdelwahid Muhamed El Nur.
The crisis began in February last year when rebels rose up against the Arab-dominated government, claiming discrimination in the distribution of scarce re-sources in the large, arid region. Major bloodshed ensued when pro-government militias called Janjaweed reacted by unleashing attacks on Darfur villages.
The UN has called Darfur the world's worst humanitarian crisis and said it has claimed 70,000 lives since March, while 1.5 million have fled their homes since February last year.
A key sticking point in reaching a deal on security is a government demand the insurgents disarm.
But the Sudan Liberation Army and the Justice and Equality Movement insist the Janjaweed must first be reined in and disarmed.
The Sudanese government has promised to allow humanitarian agencies unfettered access to areas of Darfur under its control, as stated in a draft humanitarian aid accord which guarantees similar access for aid workers in rebel-controlled areas.
The rebels say existing accords already provide for relief efforts and Janjaweed attacks make it impossible to do more to protect aid workers.
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