Earlier this month, the government of Sudan and the largest rebel group in Darfur, the Sudan Liberation Army, signed a comprehensive peace agreement in Abuja, Nigeria. The peace deal came after three years of fighting in Darfur that has killed about 200,000 people. Some two million more have been displaced. The Sudanese government and allied Arab militias are accused of carrying out a campaign of genocide against mostly black farmers. The peace agreement does not include the Justice and Equality Movement rebel group, or a breakaway faction of the Sudan Liberation Army.
Hafiz Mohammed is the Darfur coordinator for the London-based think tank Justice Africa. He told English to Africa reporter Ashenafi Abedje implementing the peace accord may prove difficult. “The main threat is because some factions in Darfur armed group refused to sign. Unless we managed to get all the armed groups, it’s difficult to actually guarantee that this agreement is going to work.” He says achieving the goals set out in the accord will require more work.
Mohammed says logistics is one of the challenges to implementing the peace agreement. “The Janjaweed are all over the place and Darfur is the size of France. And it’s difficult to find everyone with arms and take them.” He says accomplishing that task will require a good deal of political will. Mohammed says once implementation of the accords begin, international pressure will go a long way to ensuring compliance by the signatories.