KHARTOUM, 20 July 2007 (IRIN) - The United Nations has urged a prominent Darfur rebel leader to join efforts to end the devastation in Sudan's western region, even though Abdel Wahid Nour, leader of a faction of the Sudan Liberation Movement, has declared he would not participate in peace talks next month.

The talks, to be held under the auspices of the UN and the African Union in Arusha, Tanzania, hope to lay the foundation for negotiations with the Sudanese government, to end more than four years of conflict in Darfur.

Several rebel leaders have expressed a desire to participate, but Nour, who has little military support although he is popular in Darfur, particularly in camps for internally displaced persons, insists he will not take part in the meeting scheduled to open on 3 August.

"We need him on our side and I hope that we will see a positive interest from him," Jan Eliasson, the UN's special envoy for Darfur, told a news conference in Khartoum, the Sudanese capital.

The UN and AU are counting on the Arusha meeting to set the stage for the beginning of peace talks between the government and rebels.

"We hope very much that we will have him [Nour] taking part in the negotiation process," Eliasson said. "This is an opportunity that must not be missed and we want to keep the door open to Nour."

"We hope he understands that this process is a serious one," Eliasson added.

Only one of three negotiating rebel groups signed an agreement with the government in Abuja, Nigeria, last year. The rebel groups have since split into several factions and the UN, AU and aid workers say this has led to an increase in violence, as rebel leaders lose control over fighters.

Sanctions

During a visit to Sudan last week, United States special envoy for Darfur, Andrew Natsios, accused some rebel leaders of impeding efforts to end the conflict. "Some of them are descending into warlordism and criminality and this is not a good trend in Darfur, which is all the more reason why we need to accelerate the political process for a peace agreement," he said.

"Some rebel leaders are cynically obstructing the peace process and the United States government is very disturbed by this. It needs to end now," the US envoy added.

The international community has threatened measures against any party found guilty of obstructing peace in Darfur. At the end of a meeting in the Libyan capital Tripoli on 16 July, the delegates issued a statement "emphasising that any hindrance to the political process would be addressed through appropriate measures by the UN Security Council and the AU Peace and Security Council."

In May, Washington imposed sanctions on Sudanese individuals exacerbating violence and human rights abuses in the region, including two senior government officials and the leader of the rebel Justice and Equality Movement (JEM), Khalil Ibrahim. The US  Treasury Department blamed him for violence and suffering in Darfur and said Ibrahim was personally responsible for rebel activity aimed at further destabilising the region.

JEM refused to sign the May 2006 Darfur Peace Agreement, along with Nour's faction of the Sudan Liberation Movement.   Ibrahim has said he will attend the Arusha meeting and peace talks with the government. However, no date has been set yet for the opening of the negotiations.

"From our side, of course, we would like these talks to start as soon as possible," the UN envoy said. "It is up to the parties to see whether they are ready to move in very soon after the invitations are issued."

The Darfur conflict flared when mostly non-Arab rebels took up arms in early 2003, accusing the central government of marginalising their region. About 200,000 people have died and more than two million displaced since the conflict erupted.

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