| Sudan's Minister of Foreign Affairs Mustafa Osman Ismael pledged Sunday that his government will enter dialogue with a newly established armed group in Darfur in response to a call by the United Nations special representative. Speaking shortly following the Joint Mechanism meeting between Sudan and the United Nations, Ismael did not reveal any specific date set for the dialogue to start. He said however that the Sudanese government "will establish contacts with the Darfur Movement of Reform and Development to enter talks on the issues of humanitarian and security in Darfur, just as it did with the SLM and JEM in Abuja in November". On November 11 in Abuja, Nigeria, the three Sudanese parties to the conflict in Darfur signed an agreement on humanitarian and security expected to end almost two years of war in the area. Speaking to reporters, the U.N. Secretary-General's Special Representative to Sudan, Jan Pronk, said the meeting of the Joint Mechanism discussed the recent rebel attacks on Taweela area in north Darfur, and aerial bombardment of rebels by the government. |