The Sudanese government and Darfur rebels made their first progress in peace talks in Abuja late Wednesday while Rwanda made it clear that its troops in the troubled Darfur region were there to protect African Union (AU) monitors overseeing a cease-fire and would not assume a peacekeeping role.

On the eighth day of the AU-sponsored talks in the Nigerian capital, the parties reached their first agreement on humanitarian aid in Darfur and will move on to the crucial security issue on Thursday.

Meanwhile, Rwandan Foreign Minister Charles Murigande, on a visit to Khartoum, said Wednesday that he handed over a letter to Sudanese President Omar Al-Bashir from his Rwandan counterpart, Paul Kagame, who assured Al-Bashir that Rwanda's 150 troops in Darfur would not be involved in any peacekeeping mission.

Also on Wednesday, UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan said that despite "some progress," the Sudanese government had not "fully" met its commitments to protect civilians and disarm marauding Arab militiamen in Darfur.

In a report to the Security Council, Annan called for a quick deployment of a larger international monitoring force in Darfur, saying this would help protect civilians and alleviate the humanitarian crisis in the arid region, where more than 10,000 hadbeen killed and 1 million others displaced since a conflict started 18 months ago.

Peace talks make progress

The leader of the rebel Justice and Equality Movement, Ahmed Mohammed Tugod, said Wednesday that the parties in the talks "cameto the agreement on protocol on humanitarian issues ... We will continue tomorrow on security issues."

Humanitarian aid in Darfur is the first item in the AU-proposedfour-point agenda for the talks in Abuja. In reaching the agreement, the Sudanese government and the rebels would move on toissues of security, and political, economic and social arrangements in Darfur.

On July 15, the African Union brokered a political dialogue in the Ethiopian capital of Addis Ababa between the Sudanese government and the two rebel groups, yet the talks collapsed due to differences on various issues.

The Abuja meeting, which opened on Aug. 23, is another effort by the 53-nation African bloc to help bring about a political solution to the Darfur conflict, described by the United Nations as the world's current worst humanitarian crisis.

The UN Security Council adopted a resolution on July 30, giving Sudan 30 days to make good its promises to disarm the Janjaweed militias, bring their leaders to justice and protect civilians in Darfur, or face economic and diplomatic sanctions.

The Janjaweed militia, made up mainly of Arab nomads and blamedfor the bulk of killing and terrorizing of civilians in the 18-month conflict in Darfur. is not represented at the ongoing talks.

Rwanda dismisses speculation

Rwandan Foreign Minister Charles Murigande said Wednesday in Khartoum that his country wanted to clarify the nature of the mission of its troops in Darfur, which account for half of the 300-strong force deployed in the vast region to protect around 100 AU observers monitoring an April cease-fire between Sudanese government forces and two rebel groups.

Sudanese media have recently speculated about the Rwandans' mission, suggesting a hidden agenda.

The security of Darfur people ought to be defended if they are attacked, Rwandan President Paul Kagame said last month when he was bidding farewell to Rwandan troops to Sudan.

His opinion was shared by AU officials who said last month thatthey were considering sending 2,500 more troops to Darfur on a peacekeeping mission, to protect civilians in case they were attacked by Arab militiamen. But Sudan strongly opposed the proposal.

Sudanese President Al-Bashir said his government will not accept foreign interference in Darfur in any case, adding that foreign forces "will only complicate the situation."

Annan urges more forces to Darfur

Criticizing the Sudanese government for failing to deliver someof its key promises, UN Secretary-General Annan told the Security Council that "attacks against civilians are continuing and the vast majority of armed militias has not been disarmed."

"After 18 months of conflict and 30 days after the adoption of Resolution 1556, the government of Sudan has not been able to resolve the crisis in Darfur, and has not met some of the core commitments it has made," he said.

While not mentioning sanctions, which many council members oppose, Annan called for an expanded international force in Darfur.

"A substantially increased international presence in Darfur is required as quickly as possible," he said, adding that this could curb violence and enhance the protection of civilians, particularly refugees, providing more opportunities for the peopleof Darfur to start reconciliation.

Sudan's UN Ambassador Elfatih Mohamed Erwa said his country hasno objection to increasing the cease-fire monitoring force, "whether it is 300 or 3,000, if it helps, that's fine."

But Sudan would oppose an international force with another mandate, for example to disarm militias or other groups because that could lead to military confrontation, he said.

The council is expected to discuss Annan's report next week, prepared by his envoy for Sudan Jan Pronk.

Source: Xinhua