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Sudan Declares Truce at Darfur Peace Talks

But two top factions aren't there, and a third has doubts

By Kevin Spak,  Newser Staff

Posted Oct 27, 2007 4:37 PM CDT
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(Newser) – Sudan declared a ceasefire at Darfur peace talks today, but two top factions weren't there to hear it, and one other met the pledge with suspicion. “The government has said several times since 2004 that they observed a ceasefire,” said one rebel leader. “We have our doubts.” Last year's peace talks sparked increased fighting, more than a dozen new factions and attacks on civilians and aid workers.

UN Secretary General Ban ki-Moon urged all rebels to attend the conference and prevent a similar escalation this year, Reuters reports. But host and Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi stressed that this is a tribal war that can't be stopped by foreigners. "Intervention by outsiders will only fan the flames of conflict," he said. Some analysts tally 200,000 deaths in the fighting so far, a number that Sudan rejects as too high.

Sudanese Foreign Minister Lam Akol talks to reporters during a press conference in Khartoum, Sudan in 2007. Darfur peace talks started today, but two key factions refused to attend.(AP Photo/Abd Raouf, File)
Sudanese Foreign Minister Lam Akol talks to reporters during a press conference in Khartoum, Sudan in 2007. Darfur peace talks started today, but two key factions refused to attend.(AP Photo/Abd Raouf,...   (Associated Press)
Nafie Ali Nafie, left, head of the Sudanese government delegation, attends the opening session of the Darfur peace talks in Sirte, Libya, Saturday, Oct. 27, 2007. (AP Photo/Nasser Nasser)
Nafie Ali Nafie, left, head of the Sudanese government delegation, attends the opening session of the Darfur peace talks in Sirte, Libya, Saturday, Oct. 27, 2007. (AP Photo/Nasser Nasser)   (Associated Press)
This picture made available by the African Union Mission in the Sudan shows an African Union peacekeeper, left, and a fighter of the Sudan Liberation Army (SLA) surveying a ransacked pharmacy in Muhajeria town in 2007. Darfur peace talks started today, but two key factions refused to attend. (AP Photo/Stuart...
This picture made available by the African Union Mission in the Sudan shows an African Union peacekeeper, left, and a fighter of the Sudan Liberation Army (SLA) surveying a ransacked pharmacy in Muhajeria...   (Associated Press)
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Rebels to skip talks
Reuters

Darfur peace talks begin in Libya
Voice of America

Who's who at the Darfur peace talks
Reuters

 
United Nations • Darfur • genocide • Sudan • Libya • Crisis in Darfur • African Union • Moammar Gadhafi • Sudanese Liberation Army

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