Latest round of UN-backed Darfur peace talks resumes tomorrow in Qatar

United Nations-backed mediation talks aimed at bringing peace to the strife-torn Sudanese region of Darfur will resume tomorrow in Doha, Qatar, the world body announced today.

This latest round of the talks will include the participation of Darfurian civil society organizations, including women’s and youth groups.

Organized under the auspices of the African Union-UN Joint Mediator, Djibril Bassolé, the Doha talks present an opportunity for the Sudanese Government and rebel movements to negotiate and agree on common measures that would help push the peace process forward.

Fighting has raged across Darfur since 2003, pitting the rebel movements against Government forces and allied Janjaweed militiamen. An estimated 300,000 people have been killed in the region over the past six years and another 2.7 million people forced to leave their homes.

The joint African Union-UN peacekeeping force in Darfur, known as UNAMID, has been deployed there since January 2008 to try to quell the fighting and protect civilians.