Hopes for an end to four years of fighting in Sudan have been dashed with most rebel groups boycotting the United Nations-sponsored talks at Sirte in Libya. Some rebels did attend the negotiations but these were mainly from the marginal groups.

Two of Darfur's main rebel groups – the Sudan Liberation Army (SLA) and the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) – decided to stay away from the Sirte talks after the UN and the African Union, who are mediating the talks, invited rebel groups that they claim are hardly representative.

With the main Darfurian players staying away, the talks ended up being a bit of a non-starter, prompting the international mediators to rename the just-concluded round as the beginning of an advanced consultation phase.
There are fears that the Sirte talks might have further splintered the already badly divided rebel movement – there are at least 14 rebel factions – further complicating the process of getting them all on board the talks when they happen next.

The talks at Sirte were a disappointment. And yet there was good news to report from the talks. The government delegation announced a unilateral ceasefire and the tone it adopted at the talks was conciliatory. In the process, unlike the rebels who ended up annoying the international community, the government emerged from the talks smelling of roses.

The rebel groups who boycotted the Sirte talks might have successfully signalled that their participation and co-operation is essential to move the peace process forward. But they lost the propaganda war at Sirte to the government.

Around 200,000 people have died and over two million have been displaced in the fighting in Sudan’s Darfur region since 2003. Both the Sudan government and Darfurian rebels need to wake up to the fact that war is not an option any longer and that talks are the only way to end the bloodshed and address grievances.

Few expect the government’s ceasefire to result in a dip in violence on the ground. Dozens of ceasefires have been announced since the start of the conflict in 2003, only to be breached within days either by the government or the rebels.

It is tempting therefore to dismiss the government’s latest offer as a gesture aimed at impressing the international community. Still, a ceasefire, however insincere, flawed or fragile it might be, holds out the promise of breaking the cycle of violence. It is an opportunity that all sides must grasp.