Khartoum — President Omar al Bashir expressed his support for the efforts of the liaison committee in urging the non-signatory movements of the Doha Document to join the peace process, on Monday, 17 December.

Siddiq Wadaa, the comittee's chairman, stated after a meeting with President Bashir at the Presidential Palace on Monday that the the president affirmed his 'unlimited' support for the committee and its action plan; of which he received a copy. The committee was formed by the Darfur Regional Authority following a forum held in El Fasher for the people of Darfur.

Newspaper Al Sahafa reported that the US Charge' d' affaires in Khartoum, Joseph D. Stafford, in a meeting with the committee's chairman, disclosed the ongoing efforts of the US administration in convincing the leaders of Darfuri armed factions at meetings in Washington, Addis Abeba or any other place, to join the peace process.

'No invitation received'

At the meeting on Saturday, the chairman presented an action plan for contacting the non-signatory movements of the Doha Document. However, Nimer Abdul Rahman, spokesman of the Sudan's Liberation Movement - leadership Abdel Wahid, stated they have 'nothing to do with the committee' and did not receive any invitation from them.

He told Radio Dabanga that "the problem of Darfur is a national problem and must be resolved nationally". The spokesman added that "partial solutions have led to the secession of the south".

Lastly, he said that "isolating the issue of Darfur from the rest of Sudan is inappropriate for the people of Darfur" and stressed that they would not support any partial solution imposed by the state.