By Evelyn Leopold

UNITED NATIONS, June 11 (Reuters) - Sudan's president pledged to do his best to disarm Janjaweed militia and push for a cease-fire in turbulent Darfur but said rebel groups were an obstacle to peace, according to a letter obtained by Reuters on Monday.

Omar Hassan al-Bashir was responding to a May 24 letter from U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon saying he expected Khartoum and rebel groups to declare a cease-fire and the Sudan government to disarm militias known as Janjaweed, accused of rape, pillage and murder. Sudan also was to help peacekeepers get equipment into Darfur and speed access for relief groups.

On a cease-fire, Bashir said in his letter, dated June 4, that his government previously declared a truce but it did not stop attacks from rebel groups that did not sign a year-old failed peace accord.

"However, we are ready to commit ourselves to an immediate cease-fire within a comprehensive package to be coordinated by the United Nations and the African Union along the lines of reinvigorating the political process," the president wrote.

Discussing the Janjaweed, he said Khartoum was committed to "disarming all militia in Darfur" but the process so far had been "counterproductive" and had not been coordinated with an effective cease-fire and a sustainable peace agreement.

He said other concerns, including a detailed plan for a "hybrid" U.N.-African Union peacekeeping force of more than 23,000, were being discussed in Addis Ababa on Monday and Tuesday among experts from all sides.

Bashir said the meeting in the Ethiopian capital "represents an important opportunity to demonstrate our commitment to agree on the actions that are required to resolve the conflict in Darfur."

Still, humanitarian workers as well as peacekeepers report bureaucratic hassles in getting visas, land for barracks and equipment. Last month, a government aircraft bombed a site in northern Darfur where a conference among rebels organized by the United Nations and the African Union was to take place.

Jan Eliasson of Sweden, the U.N. negotiator for the Darfur peace process, said last week that rebel groups posed serious problems to the peace process and had multiplied to 12 factions and could fragment even further.

Eliasson and his AU counterpart, Salim Ahmed Salim, hoped to be able to begin negotiations by the end of the summer and offered a road map to attain that goal.

Non-Arab rebels took up arms in Darfur in early 2003, accusing the government of not heeding their plight. Khartoum armed some Arab Janjaweed militia. Experts estimate 200,000 people have died and 2 million have been expelled from their homes. In the past year, rebel groups have been fighting each other.

AlertNet news is provided by