Fresh Darfur peace talks begin next month 

Khartoum, 08 Sept-(ANA)-United Nations-backed mediation talks aimed at resolving the long-running conflict in Darfur between the Sudanese Government and the region's armed movements will resume late next month, it has been announced. 
  
The announcement follows consultations in Doha, between Djibril Bassolé, the 
AU-UN Joint Chief Mediator for Darfur, and Ahmed Bin Abdullah Al-Mahmoud, the 
Minister of State for Foreign Affairs in Qatar, which has been sponsoring the 
mediation efforts. 
  
Fighting has raged across the western Sudanese region since 2003, pitting the 
rebel movements against Government forces and allied Janjaweed militiamen. All 
sides stand accused of human rights abuses and an estimated 300,000 people have been killed in Darfur over the past six years and another 2.7 million people 
forced to leave their homes. 
 
The efforts of mediators have been hampered by the fragmentation of the rebel 
movements into many different, smaller groups, making it harder for them to 
adopt a unified position during any negotiations. (ANA)

FA/ANA/08 September 2009---