Return of the Weekly Darfur

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It's been too long. I cry your pardon.

It's back now. It's true. It's here!

Coalition for Darfur on Darfur: "Deadline Extended"

As the Sudan Tribune reported earlier, the deadline has been extended - from Reuters

Peace talks on Sudan's Darfur region would continue on Wednesday, U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Robert Zoellick said, as a deadline for reaching an agreement slipped for a second time.

The government of Sudan has accepted an 85-page draft settlement designed to end fighting that has killed tens of thousands. However, three Darfur rebel factions refuse to sign, saying they are unhappy with the proposals on security, power-sharing and wealth-sharing.

"I will be here tomorrow (Wednesday), beyond that I don't know," Zoellick told reporters on Tuesday evening after a day of back-to-back meetings with the parties in the Nigerian capital Abuja, venue of the talks.

"One of the points I made in my discussions today was that people needed to sharpen their focus because this had to be solved very soon," Zoellick said.

[edit]

In public, the rebels insist some of their demands, such as a vice president's post and a regional government, be met in full, although mediators say months of negotiations have shown compromises with Khartoum are necessary.

Zoellick said that some of the rebels, though not all, had seemed more open to compromise in private meetings.

The new deadline of 2300 GMT (7 p.m. EDT) on Tuesday had been widely expected to slip as AU Chairman Denis Sassou Nguesso, the president of Congo Republic, and AU commission head Alpha Oumar Konare were due to arrive in Abuja only on Wednesday.