Can Darfur's disparate rebels unite?

Fighting between rebels could complicate fresh peace talks, which begin Sunday in Libya.

from the July 13, 2007 edition

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"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.

Since those talks, many members of that group have split into factions and the number of Darfur rebel movements has proliferated to 18. Lacking leadership, discipline, and financing, these new groups are now blamed for a spate of robberies, carjackings, and kidnappings that have halted many relief operations .

The UN's chief envoy on Darfur, Jan Eliasson, told reporters this week that the upcoming talks in Tripoli were "the moment of truth for the parties to the conflict to see whether they are really ready to discuss peace in Darfur and not to continue the conflict."

Mr. Eliasson admitted that the international community is "getting tired of paying" some $700 million for humanitarian aid in Darfur and eastern Chad, when funds could be better spent on development projects that "make life better for the people of Darfur."

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