US Sudan envoy to meet Darfur rebels in Chad

N'DJAMENA, Jan 18 (Reuters) The US special envoy to Sudan today said he would travel to eastern Chad for talks with rebels from the Sudanese region of Darfur, with the aim of ending a four-year conflict that has killed 200,000 people.

Andrew Natsios sought permission for the talks from President Idriss Deby at a meeting in the Chadian capital N'Djamena, amid international concerns that spiralling violence in Darfur could destabilise central Africa.

Fighting erupted in Darfur in February 2003 when rebels took up arms against Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir, accusing him of discriminating against the western region.

The government responded by arming Arab militias to counter the rebellion. Some 2.5 million people have been forced from their homes in a conflict that Washington has termed ''genocide''.

''I promised the Sudanese president I would meet the Chadian leader so he could authorise a meeting with the Darfur rebels in eastern Chad,'' Natsios told reporters after the meeting.

The purpose of the talks with the divided rebel groups would be to ''try to convince them to adopt a common position to find a solution to the Darfur crisis,'' Natsios said.

A Chadian government spokesman said the president had given the talks his blessing. Chad has repeatedly denied Sudanese accusations that it supports Darfur insurgents and it has accused Khartoum in turn of backing an uprising in eastern Chad.

US Governor Bill Richardson of New Mexico negotiated a proposed 60-day ceasefire between Darfur rebels and the Sudanese government last week, but divisions among the insurgents have already undermined the deal and the rebels say the government has violated the truce with air strikes.

DEEP DIVISIONS Many Darfur commanders who rejected a May peace deal with the government formed a new alliance called the National Redemption Front (NRF) and renewed hostilities in June.

Leaders of one NRF faction, the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM), have said there is no ceasefire.

Natsios was expected to travel to eastern Chad tomorrow before returning to the capital on Saturday, according to a draft schedule from US officials.

The US diplomat has striven to shore up international support for resolving the crisis: last week he made a five-day visit to China, which supplies arms to Sudan and is a major investor in its oil sector.

Sudan has rejected UN Security Council Resolution 1706 authorising some 22,500 UN peacekeepers and police to take over a struggling African Union mission in Darfur.

In December, al-Bashir softened his position by agreeing to a ''hybrid operation'' in a letter to outgoing UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan.

Annan said the force could include up to 10,000 UN peacekeepers, but Khartoum insists it should just give support to the African Union mission.

''We support the UN plan to deploy 10,000 blue helmets in Darfur.

We are working with the African Union to have that hybrid force in Darfur. There are already 50 blue helmets on the ground who are preparing the way,'' Natsios said.

REUTERS LL RAI2346