EGYPT: Sudanese presidential advisor talks with Egyptian President Mubarak, optimistic about agreement from next talks in Libya between Sudan government and Darfur rebels

Sudanese presidential advisor Mustafa Osman Ismail said on Wednesday (September 19) he was optimistic that a final agreement would be reached next month in the Libyan capital when representatives from his government meet with various Darfur rebels to discuss peace in the region. "We are optimistic that the Tripoli conference will be the final conference for peace that will involve negotiations with the various factions in Darfur," Ismail told reporters after holding talks with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak in Cairo. "There is unanimous agreement on a local, regional and international level that these talks will be the final talks. If this does not happen, we will be opening the door to a never-ending cycle of meetings and conferences and the losers will be the people of Darfur", Ismail added. Ismail's comments came after one of Darfur's most powerful rebel leaders, Abdel Wahed Mohamed el-Nur, said earlier he would not take part in peace talks until a lasting ceasefire is put in place and security is restored. Sudan's government and rebel groups will start talks on Oct. 27 in Libya to push for peace in violence-torn Darfur before 26,000 peacekeepers deploy there. The peace conference would seek to end a conflict that has generated one of the world's worst humanitarian crises and sparked U.S. accusations -- dismissed by Sudan -- of genocide. Much of the killing, rape and looting has been blamed on a government-allied militia known as the Janjaweed. International experts estimate some 200,000 people have died and over 2 million have been made homeless in Darfur since an uprising against alleged government neglect of the region flared in 2003. Khartoum puts the death toll at 9,000.

ITN Source | September 20, 2007

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