Darfur Rebels Boycott Bashir’s New Peace Initiative

Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir has launched a new peace initiative for Darfur, declaring his determination to find a final solution to the crisis in a conference boycotted by all rebel groups from the region. Instead, the rebels dismissed the initiative as a public relations gimmick, with the rebel Sudan Liberation Movement (SLM) saying Bashir merely wanted to avoid a possible indictment by the International Criminal Court’s by feigning a renewed peace process. The Khartoum conference is being attended by top delegates from several Sudanese political parties, the African Union, the Arab League, Egypt, Libya and Qatar. [PE]