Sudan: Darfur Regional Authority to be launched

Sudan's president is due to launch a governing body to oversee a peace agreement intended to end the war in the western region of Darfur. The deal was reached last year, but signed by only one of Darfur's weaker rebel movements. The new Darfur Regional Authority aims to share power and wealth, compensate those affected by the nine-year war and help the return of displaced people. More than two million people remain in camps because of the fighting, More than 300,000 people have died in the conflict, mostly of disease, according to UN estimates. But the government in Khartoum puts the figure at about 12,000 people and says the number of dead has been exaggerated for political reasons. The International Criminal Court has issued an arrest warrant for Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir and other officials, accusing them of genocide and crimes against humanity in Darfur - which they deny. 'Big task' Mr Bashir will formally inaugurate the Darfur Regional Authority (DRA) in the regional capital Fasher. Dignitaries from around the region, and Qatar, which sponsored last year's peace deal, are due to attend. map of Sudan The Doha agreement was signed by the Liberty and Justice Movement (LJM), but rejected by three other, more powerful, rebel groups. Critics believe the DRA shares many of the weaknesses of the previous Darfur administration, a product of the 2006 Abuja peace deal. The one rebel signatory in 2006, Minni Minnawi, later went back into rebellion, leading one of the three main groups not to have signed the Doha agreement. The DRA will be made up of government nominees, members of civil society and representatives from the LJM. Its leader, Tijani Sese, has already been named the head of the DRA. The BBC's James Copnall in Khartoum says its task is a big one - essentially making sure the peace deal signed in Qatar means something on the ground. Power-sharing has to an extent been fulfilled already, since a Darfuri was made vice-president, and LJM now has ministers in the federal government, as well as in the DRA, he says. The DRA's executive body, which includes ministers and heads of several commissions, also has a wide range of responsibilities for post-war reconstruction, reconciliation and good governance of Darfur. Our correspondent says it is still not clear how it will be funded or how it will co-exist with other authorities, like the state governors. The governors are part of the DRA, but are unlikely to accept a reduction in their power easily, he says. Our reporter says fighting in Darfur has died down since 2006, but the region is still extremely insecure. The most powerful rebel group, the Justice and Equality Movement, is in disarray since its leader, Khalil Ibrahim, was killed in December. A joint UN-African Union peacekeeping mission, Unamid, has been serving in Darfur since 2007.