Field commanders of Darfur armed movements have begun a workshop today in Addis Ababa on possibilities for a cessation of hostilities agreement. The workshop is scheduled to last for three days.

This comes at the request by the Darfur rebels to Thabo Mbeki, the chief mediator of the African Union High-Level Implementation Panel (AUHIP) for Sudan.

Ahmed Mohammed, the Darfur movement’s chief negotiator told Radio Tamazuj that the workshop will educate field commanders on the process of negotiations.

He said that he expected negotiations between the Darfur movements and the government to complement ongoing talks between the government and SPLA-North.

The African Union has called for ‘synchronized’ ceasefires to be implemented in Darfur, the Nuba Mountains and southern Blue Nile.   

Mohamed pointed out that there are two tracks for the negotiation process involving the Sudan Revolutionary Front (SRF), the first way being for the SPLA-North and second for the other armed movements.

SPLA-North and the Darfur groups are both part of the same umbrella organization, the Sudan Revolutionary Front (SRF).