Rebel snub threatens Darfur talks

UN-African Union talks aimed at ending the four-year war in Sudan's Darfur region are due to open in Libya later on Saturday.

But two of Darfur's main rebel groups have decided to boycott the talks in a row over invited factions, despite UN Security Council sanction threats.

The absence of key rebel groups could mean the talks may have to be delayed, says the BBC's Amber Henshaw in Darfur.

Some 200,000 people have died and about 2m have been displaced in the conflict.

The mediation has fallen in the trap prepared by the government by making the negotiations an arena for every Jack, Tom and Harry Mohammed Bahr Hamdeen Jem

A 2006 Darfur peace deal faltered because it was signed by the Sudanese government and only one rebel group.

SLA-Unity and the Justice and Equality Movement (Jem) decided not to attend after the UN and the AU - who are mediating the talks - invited other rebel groups they claim have little support, said Mohammed Bahr Hamdeen, a senior Jem leader.

"The mediation has fallen in the trap prepared by the government by making the negotiations an arena for every Jack, Tom and Harry," Mr Hamdeen said.

Camp protest

The talks will be hosted by Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi in the city of Sirte, but correspondents say the official mediator is likely to be Finnish politician Pekka Haavisto, the EU's special representative to Sudan in 2005.

When the conflict broke out in 2003, SLA and Jem were the only two rebel movements. Now, there are at least 12.

Demonstrators protested against the talks in Abu Shouk, one of many refugee camps in Darfur, on Friday.

Many people in the camps are strongly opposed to the talks and doubt that the negotiations will lead to any concrete improvements on the ground, our correspondent says.

UK warns Darfur rebels on boycott

The UK has warned rebel groups in Darfur they could be excluded from the peace process if they boycott talks due to be held in Libya later this month.

The UK Minister for Africa, Lord Malloch Brown, said those who opted out "should understand the consequences".

The meeting was arranged so the rebels could unify their negotiating position ahead of talks with Sudan's government.

Meanwhile, UN officials have appealed for helicopters and trucks for the new UN-African Union mission in Darfur.

The head of UN peacekeeping operations, Jean-Marie Guehenno, said the 24 military helicopters and 60 transport vehicles the UN required would be essential for the success of the 26,000-strong peacekeeping force once it deploys.

Rebel leaders that do not go are, in many ways, abdicating their right to represent people Mark Malloch Brown UK Minister for Africa

Mr Guehenno said the recent rebel attack on the AU base near Haskanita in northern Darfur, and the subsequent destruction of the town by the Sudanese army, showed why having a highly mobile force was critical to stopping the violence.

"If you want to ensure the protection of civilians, you need that mobility, you need the capacity to transport troops quickly to a place you hear there is some trouble developing and you need to have the firepower and the strength to immediately dominate the situation," he said.

'Consequences'

Some of the largest of the more than a dozen rebel groups are threatening not to attend the peace talks due to take place in Tripoli on 27 October.

The BBC's Martin Plaut says the prospects for the meeting are now looking increasingly grim, with the level of violence in Darfur on the rise as all parties jostle for control of territory.

The talks have been endorsed by the UN Security Council and Lord Malloch Brown had a blunt message for those considering staying away.

"Rebel leaders that do not go are, in many ways, abdicating their right to represent people," he told the BBC.

"That means anybody who wants to be a legitimate representative of the Darfuri people needs to go there. If they opt out, they should understand the consequences of doing that - probably their role in the peace negotiations may be finished."

The divisions among the rebel movements and their inability to find a common cause have been some of the most difficult issues for the international community to deal with, our correspondent says.

But unless all sides can be persuaded to attend there is little hope that the Libyan talks will contribute to the resolution to the crisis in Darfur, he adds.

At least 200,000 people have died in Darfur during a four-year conflict and more than two million have been forced from their homes.

Darfur rebels 'outgun' AU troops

The commander of African Union forces in Darfur, Gen Martin Luther Agwai, has said his troops are outnumbered and outgunned by rebels and militias.

Gen Agwai said that is why an AU base in the Sudanese region was overrun on Saturday with 10 soldiers killed.

He told a group of elder statesmen visiting Darfur that he did not expect to have any more troops until next year when a joint AU-UN force is deployed.

The UN Security Council has condemned the attack on the AU soldiers.

"We are outgunned, we are outnumbered and we can be overrun very quickly," Gen Agwai told the delegation of statesmen, led by Archbishop Desmond Tutu.

The "Elders" have been visiting Darfur to try to find solutions to the conflict.

Rebels blamed

Gen Agwai said the AU detachment at the base in Haskanita had been caught off guard as they were conducting dusk prayers.

He said no African country could provide enough properly equipped troops for the mission in Darfur.

About 7,000 AU troops from 26 countries are currently patrolling the region, an area roughly the size of France.

The African Union is reviewing the force's mandate to allow it more scope to protect itself.

Gen Agwai said he did not expect any improvement in the situation on the ground in Darfur until next year when a 26,000-strong joint AU-UN force is to be deployed under his command.

Darfur rebels are being blamed for the Haskanita attack but it is not clear which of the many groups carried it out.

The UN Security Council has condemned the attack but council members wrangled over the language of their statement.

South Africa wanted it called a terrorist attack but the US, Britain and France urged caution on naming those who might be behind the killings, saying it is not yet clear who carried them out, says the BBC's Laura Trevelyan at the UN in New York.

The UN and the AU are investigating the attack.

At least 200,000 people have died and some 2m forced from their homes during the four year conflict in Darfur.