Instead, civil society members, including representatives of the diaspora, will meet in Doha for “consultations” on how to clinch a peace deal between Khartoum and the rebels, he said.
“We want to know their point of view on the peace process” before the start of talks between the government and the rebels, the UN-African Union mediator said on condition of anonymity.
“There is no date yet” for talks between the Khartoum government and rebel representatives, he added. The Qatari-hosted talks had been slated for October 28, but UN mediator Djibril Bassole said at the time they would be postponed until November 16 because it coincided with an African Union summit. Bassole said the summit would consider a report on Darfur prepared by a high-level panel headed by South Africa’s former president, Thabo Mbeki. No details about the recommendations have been revealed, but Mbeki said in October: “The resolution of the conflict in Darfur has to be brought about by the Sudanese people themselves and cannot be imposed from outside.”
In February, key Darfur rebel group the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) signed an agreement with the government in Khartoum on confidence-building measures aimed at clinching a formal peace deal.
