Sudanese rebels hope for new start with new mediator

Sharm Al Shaikh: Sudanese rebels hope the new international mediator for Darfur has the power to wring concessions from the Khartoum government to kickstart a stalled peace process and help end suffering on the ground.

Speaking to Reuters at the weekend, officials from the main rebel factions in the five-year-old conflict bemoaned the lack of progress under previous mediators.

They said they were crossing their fingers that Burkina Faso Foreign Minister Djibril Bassolet could make a difference.

"He has to be serious and have experience in political and military matters," said Al Saeed Sherif, a member of the large SLA Unity faction's Revolutionary Council.

"He needs to be able to pressure the government side and be courageous," he said by telephone.

Sherif and other rebel leaders criticised previous United Nations and African Union mediators, saying they had rarely made contact with the rebel groups and had failed to push them and the government to the negotiating table to end the fighting.

Minni Arcua Minnawi, the only rebel leader to sign a peace deal with Khartoum, on Sunday urged African leaders meeting in the Egyptian resort town of Sharm Al Shaikh to promote peace talks with the remaining factions and end the bloodshed.

Speaking by telephone from Darfur, he said previous United Nations and African Union (AU) mediators had completely failed. "I don't see any results on the ground," he said.

Diplomats at the UN said on Friday that Bassolet had been chosen as the new joint UN-AU mediator for Darfur, but his appointment must still be confirmed. They said Sudan's President Omar Hassan Al Bashir could still object to the decision.

Some rebels voiced concern that Bassolet might not have enough international clout to succeed.

"We would have preferred a Western mediator," said Khalil Ebrahim, head of the most militarily powerful rebel group, the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM).

JEM rebels attacked Khartoum last month, the first time rebels have brought their battle to the capital. They have since been repelled.