Taha, Garang to meet on December 5th, relief organizations warn against a famine in Darfour

Advisor of the Sudanese presidency for peace affairs Ghazi Salah Eddine al-Atbani said that the Sudanese Vice-President, Ali Othman Muhammad Taha and President of the Sudan People Liberation movement John Garang will hold talks in Kenya on December 5th with the aim to reach a peace agreement.

Meantime, international relief organizations warned against a likely famine and the dissemination of infectious diseases in Darfour to the west of Sudan, amid an increasing number of displaced in the area because of the acts of violations and riots of militia members who burn villages and farms. The Sudanese news agency quoted al-Atbani as saying that a preliminary meeting will be held for the two delegations of the government and the rebels on December 1st. al-Atbani explained that the government agreed to proposals submitted by the Kenyan mediator Gen. Lazaraos Simbayo on means of running the next round of negotiations. He refused to disclose the content of the proposals before they are agreed by the rebels.

The Kenyan mediator had held talks on running the negotiations with Taha and al-Atbani during his visit of Khartoum on Wednesday and Thursday. The Sudanese news agency quoted Simbayo as saying that he hopes to see Khartoum and the rebels "reaching a peace agreement by the end of the current year."

Meantime, the UN representative for humanitarian affairs in Sudan warned that West Sudan, an almost desert area, might be the stage of the worst humanitarian crisis in Sudan since 1998," when hundreds of thousands of citizens died in Baher al-Ghazzelle ( south Darfour). The UN office said that the number of displaced because of the conflict in Darfour increased from 400, 000 to 500,000 persons of whom 70,000 evacuated towards Chad. The spokesman for the UN coordinator for humanitarian affairs said that "this big displacement movement is an indication of a drastic condition."