Military

DATE=10/22/2004

TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT

NUMBER=2-

TITLE=NIGERIA/SUDAN (L-O)

BYLINE=CATHERINE MADDUX

DATELINE= ABIDJAN

CONTENT=

HEADLINE: Darfur Negotiations Get Off To Slow Start

INTRO: A new round of peace talks on the conflict in Sudan's western Darfur region is getting off to a slow start. Travel delays have kept representatives from arriving on time at the site of the negotiations in Nigeria's capital, Abuja, on Thursday. VOA's Catherine Maddux reports from our West Africa bureau in Abidjan.

TEXT: This second round of talks between Darfur's two rebel groups and the Sudanese government started Thursday but then stopped almost immediately. Officials say the negotiations will resume in several days - most likely on Monday.

Logistical problems left rebel representatives stranded across the continent in Chad, Kenya, and Libya, waiting to get flights into Abuja.

The first round of talks, held last month, ended without much progress. But officials of the African Union, which is hosting the talks, say they are determined to end the Darfur war. The United Nations estimates tens of thousands of people have died in the fighting and one and a half million others have been displaced.

In another development, the African Union announced this week it would boost its troop presence in Darfur from some three-hundred soldiers to more than three-thousand. Their mandate is to monitor a shaky cease-fire and protect 150 AU observers.

The European Union has pledged to give more than 100-million dollars to pay for the expanded A-U force.

Meanwhile, as mediators, rebels, and the Sudanese government try to tackle the politics of ending Darfur's 20-month-old conflict, humanitarian efforts continue in region - but not without problems.

Recent reports say aid trucks have come under attack, and this week the United Nations' top relief coordinator Jan Egeland said humanitarian efforts are being undercut by ongoing instability. Mr. Egeland said while the United Nations is exceeding many of its goals, the number of people in need has grown exponentially.

He added relief workers have not reached hundreds of thousands of people in Darfur who are in desperate need of food, water and proper sanitation. (Signed)

NEB/CM/AWP/MAR