Parties to the peace talks on Sudan's Darfur region held separate consultations with African Union (AU) mediators on Saturday to try and agree an agenda and a format for the negotiations. A plenary session that was supposed to start at 1000 GMT was postponed as mediators met separately with negotiators for the Sudanese government and for rebel groups the Sudan Liberation Army (SLA) and the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM), according to Reuters. "So far, we have not made the agenda for this meeting. I hope that is the first thing we will do today," said Ahmed Tugod, chief negotiator for the JEM. An AU spokesman said delays were normal at this early stage of talks. He declined to give details of what was holding up the plenary session and emphasised that all parties had accepted the role of Salim Ahmed Salim, the head of the AU mediation team. The government and rebel delegations spelled out their positions on Friday in speeches at a ceremony to launch the negotiations at an Abuja hotel. Four previous rounds of talks in Abuja ended in stalemate, but the parties were cautiously optimistic on Friday that the latest effort will produce a deal. The AU says the situation on the ground has improved since the last round, in December.
