SUDAN: Resumption of ceasefire unlikely, say Darfur rebels

NAIROBI, 3 December 2003 (IRIN) - The resumption of a ceasefire agreement between the Sudanese government and Sudan Liberation Movement/Army (SLM/A) in Darfur, western Sudan, is highly unlikely, according to the rebel group. "We have no interest in going to peace talks. There will be nothing new, there will be continued aggression from the government," SLM/A spokesman Ahmad Abd al-Shafi told IRIN on Wednesday. The frequently violated agreement, which was brokered by Chad on 3 September, was renewed on 4 November for one month. "This ceasefire is a waste of time," said al-Shafi. "There is no ceasefire." He added that the SLM had been requested to attend fresh peace talks by the Chadian government, which has brokered the ceasefire deal to date. "Unless we settle some points we cannot go to talks," he said. The Darfur conflict has escalated since early November with an upsurge in Arab militia activity, which has left western Darfur largely inaccessible. Amnesty International says there is "compelling evidence" of government involvement in the attacks, charges which the government denies. Observers say the government may have lost control over the militias to varying degrees. They also point to possible splits in the SLM leadership, although al-Shafi denied this. The Justice and Equality Movement (JEM), a second rebel group which was not party to the ceasefire agreement, has also rapidly gained strength in western Darfur. Regional analysts say the rise in support for the JEM may be attributable to the fact that the SLM advocates a secular state in Darfur, a religiously conservative part of northern Sudan. Meanwhile, humanitarian access remains largely blocked in the region, with only a handful of aid agencies granted permission by the government to enter and work there. The NGO, Save the Children, said on Tuesday that current malnutrition rates in Darfur were reported to be "alarmingly high" with global acute malnutrition rates reaching 25 percent in some areas, which remained inaccessible to aid workers. "The precarious nutritional situation of children and their families could dramatically deteriorate should a disease break out, or should they be displaced further," it said in a statement.