Can Darfur's disparate rebels unite?

Just a year or two ago, Sudanese militant leaders Al-Hadi Adam Agabeldour and Sadiq Ali Shaibo would have considered each other enemies. They belonged to different militias, and their ethnic groups – Arab and Zaghawa, respectively – were fighting on opposite sides of the war in Sudan's troubled Darfur region.

But today, they have united to fight the Sudanese government in Khartoum for its neglect and destruction of Darfur.

"The government only used us like guns, like tools, and when they were finished with us, they threw us down," says Mr. Agabeldour, spokesman for the Arab-led militant group United Revolutionary Force/Front in neighboring Chad. "But we are the new generation of Arabs, and we have joined with other militant groups. If we decide to go to war, we go together. If we decide to go for peace, we go together."

Sadiq Ali Shaibo, a top leader within the National Movement for Rehabilitation and Development, says that the only way the people of Darfur will get anything positive from this crushing four-year conflict that has killed more than 200,000 people and displaced more than 2.5 million is if militant groups unify against Sudan's government. "We want all the movements of Darfur to have one voice. If we are all one voice, we will be stronger."

Such talk of unity, with peace talks scheduled to begin in Tripoli, Libya, starting Sunday, is well received here and could be the first step toward a political solution of the Darfur conflict. Perhaps the most significant aspect is the decision of many Sudanese Arabs – including members of the pro-government janjaweed militias – to switch sides to fight alongside Darfuri rebels, a step that weakens Khartoum's last major base of support in the troubled region.

Yet analysts say that militant groups are still far from unity in any real sense of choosing leaders or common goals, or in designing a common path forward – giving Khartoum the advantage in the conflict.

"This is a group that makes the Somalis look well organized," says Alex De Waal, an expert at the Global Equity Initiative at Harvard University. "They have a sentimental attachment to the idea of unity. But the fact of the matter is, they can't get it together. Every military commander is a power unto himself. They don't have the political infrastructure, finances, experience in organization, in discipline, and a sense of what is required to have an overall political front."

A renewal of fighting after the rainy season ends in September is therefore a strong likelihood, Mr. De Waal says. "The tangible results of this for the people of Darfur is that any political settlement remains a long way away."

If the international community appears frustrated, it is because previous efforts at unifying rebels have borne little fruit. The Darfur Peace Agreement of 2006, hammered out in lengthy and expensive talks in Abuja, Nigeria, brought only one of the three main rebel groups to peace with Khartoum – the Sudanese Liberation Movement (SLM) of Minni Minawi.

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