Sudanese, Rebels Sign Peace Plan For Darfur

In the past year, Zoellick has become the administration's point man on Sudan, making four trips to Khartoum, the capital, and the Darfur region to press the two sides to agree. He also has shepherded efforts to implement another peace deal, signed last year, that ended a 20-year conflict between the Muslim government and rebels in the southern part of the country, which is largely animist and Christian.

The Darfur agreement is an amended version of a draft document produced earlier in the week by the African Union, which mediated the talks.

One faction that refused to sign is led by Abdel Wahid al-Nur, who founded the movement that launched the revolt against the government but has since split. The other rebel group is the Justice and Equality Movement.

"We won't sign it because the deal does not protect the people of Darfur. We don't have any real power in this deal," Ahmed Tugod, a JEM negotiator, said in an interview. "It only answers part of our problems, and we reject partial solutions."

Analysts yesterday were divided on the prospects for success.

"This is a feel-good agreement for the West," said Ted Dagne, a specialist in African affairs at the Congressional Research Service. "The people who could have been saved are dead, and those who are suffering in the camps are still there. What does this agreement mean to those who have perished? It means very little."

But Alex de Waal, an adviser to the African Union, said in a telephone interview from Abuja that the deal is "going to be very tough to implement" but "at least there is a prospect of getting somewhere." He said that donors "are getting sick of Darfur because there hasn't been any progress" but that a peace agreement may pave the way for more aid.

"Few doubt that Khartoum's Plan B is anything other than a large-scale military offensive. As local clashes escalate, more tribal militia mobilize. Darfurian elders warn of a Hobbesian war of all against all," de Waal said. "We are at the precipice of a regional maelstrom. Those who criticize the A.U.'s text and the efforts of Deputy Secretary of State Robert B. Zoellick to clinch the deal must ponder that scenario."

Zoellick said the deal envisions careful sequencing to disarm the militias by October. The government is required to complete a plan within 37 days to move militiamen to restricted areas and remove heavy weapons. Every step will be verified by the African Union, and rebels will not assemble to demobilize until it is clear the Janjaweed have been disarmed, he said.

Correspondent Emily Wax in Nairobi and staff writer Bradley Graham contributed to this report.