Darfur Rebel Leader Resists Peace Talk Pressure

International experts say more than 200,000 have died since Nur and other rebels took up arms against the government in 2003.

A Darfur rebel leader on Tuesday said he was resisting international pressure to attend peace talks in Qatar and vowed to boycott all negotiations until government militias were disarmed and attacks ended.

Abdel Wahed Mohamed Ahmed al-Nur said he was having regular consultations with officials in France, where he currently lives, and other international bodies, who all said he should take part in talks with Sudan's government.

But the chairman of the insurgent Sudan Liberation Army said he was sticking to his often-repeated position that he would not negotiate until "security" returned to Sudan's violent west.

"Without security we will not be part of any process," Nur told Reuters.

"The first step must be conflict suspension. They must stop killing our people. They must stop the rapes. They must disarm the janjaweed (a name used for mostly-Arab government-backed militias). They must move the people who have occupied our land."

His comments came as 15 human rights groups issued a report accusing the Sudanese government of continuing attacks on Darfur civilians, despite promising a new peace push in the region.

International experts say more than 200,000 have died since Nur and other rebels took up arms against the government in 2003, accusing Khartoum of neglecting the region.

Khartoum, which mobilised the janjaweed to quell the revolt, puts the death toll at 10,000 and rejects activists' accusations that genocide took place during the counter-insurgency.

COLLAPSED PEACE EFFORTS

Nur commands significant support among Darfuris driven from their homes in the conflict, many of them living in displacement camps. His stance is significant because previous initiatives that he refused to back have collapsed.

A Darfur Peace Agreement with Khartoum in 2006 fell apart after Nur refused to sign, and fresh talks in Libya in 2007 fizzled out after Nur's SLA faction boycotted the proceedings, alongside other major rebel forces.

Nur said he had recently had consultations with French authorities "several times". "I respect their position. ...They want us to negotiate for peace in Darfur without security on the ground ... But our position is clear."

The Arab League asked the government of Qatar to host peace talks between Khartoum and rebel factions, weeks after the chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court asked judges to issue an arrest warrant for Sudan's president on suspicion of war crimes in Darfur earlier this year.

Khartoum also launched its own peace initiative, announcing a ceasefire and promising compensation for displaced Darfuris.

Analysts say the talks and ceasefire are part of a diplomatic push to persuade members of the U.N. Security Council, notably France, Britain and the United States, to use their powers to postpone the global court's investigation.

Darfur's rebel Justice and Equality Movement on Monday said a delegation of its commanders was in Doha, Qatar to consult with the peace talk organisers. JEM commander Suleiman Sandal told Reuters his force had still made no commitments to attend.