afrol News, 5 May - The largest Darfuri rebel group, the Sudan Liberation Movement (SLM), today agreed to the African Union (AU) peace plan for the western Sudanese region and the Khartoum government has agreed to the minor changes made to the deal during the last few hectic days. As there is joy over the agreement in Abuja, the Nigerian capital, now the difficult task to implement the deal will begin; disarming pro- and anti-government militias, reconciling the peoples of Darfur, sending refugees back home, securing donor funds and implement the power-sharing deal.

Mediators from the AU had been working in Abuja for months under the guidance of Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo, trying to create a climate of confidence between the Sudanese government and the Darfuri rebel groups and designing a peace plan acceptable to all parties. A deadline was set for 30 April, but it had to be extended twice. Khartoum agreed to the AU plan but the rebels wanted more influence in post-war Darfur.

As the SLM rebels today finally agreed to sign the 85-page AU peace deal, mediators, negotiators and observers in Abuja spontaneously broke into applause. High-ranking officials from Africa, America and Europe forgot about diplomatic codes and shouted joyfully. Finally, the mission was completed.

If the Sudanese government and the two main Darfuri rebel groups - the SLM and the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) - stick to the text and spirit of the Abuja peace agreement, Sudan's war-ravaged Darfur region has a real chance of recovery, growth and stability.

But the road to real peace and stability for Darfur is still far. More than one million Darfuri civilians remain in refugee camps abroad or in Sudanese camps for internally displaced. The feared pro-government "Arab" Janjaweed militia is still in control of much of rural Darfur and may resist Khartoum's promise of disarmament. Until the Janjaweed is disarmed, SLM and JEM will find it difficult to disarm, dissolve and integrate into the regular army of Sudan.

The most obvious and immediate threat to the peace deal is that two armed Darfuri groups are unwilling to sign the agreement. This includes rebel faction leader Abdel Wahid "Nur" - the original founder of the SLM - and large parts of the JEM rebels. "Unfortunately, the draft does not fulfil the ambitions of the people of Darfur," JEM negotiator Ahmed Tugod told the Arab broadcaster 'Al-Arabiya' today, after leaving the Abuja talks in protest.

Observers however claim that the rebel fractions still resisting the peace deal are rather insignificant when it comes to military potentials, adding that the Sudanese army easily may neutralise them. A totally peaceful solution for Darfur therefore still is not an option.

Darfur will also depend heavily on international support to be able to implement the peace negotiated in Abuja. So far, the African Union has deployed a minor peacekeeping mission, which will have to be enhanced after Western funds start flowing. Europe and the US however are calling for a UN peacekeeping mission, supported by NATO troops, something the government of Sudan is against, given its low-scale conflict with the US.

The important presence of high-ranking US and British diplomats in Abuja during the last four days however indicates that Washington and Brussels are willing to pay their part of the bill when the Darfur peace is to be implemented. Costs may run high when the vast region is to be reconstructed; refugees to be shipped home to destroyed villages; ex-rebels to be re-integrated into society or the Sudanese army; and international peacekeepers are to oversee the Abuja deal.

By staff writers

© afrol News

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