Renewed and heavy clashes between Darfuri rebels and the Sudan Armed Forces (SAF) were reported in early March. On March 9th an SAF spokesman, Khaled al-Sawarmi, claimed that government forces had killed 100 rebels, captured 15, and destroyed seven vehicles and seized five others during fighting in the Jebel Marra region in North Darfur. Although these figures may be exaggerations, there is little doubt that the past three months have seen intensification in fighting in Darfur. Rebel groups have hardened their positions on negotiations and the government has stiffened its military response while international attention has been focused on the Southern Sudan referendum. Earlier in March the joint UN-AU peacekeeping mission in Darfur, UNAMID, confirmed that bombs had been dropped near Samra and Bersi, two villages in North Darfur. The government is also continuing to pursue divisive political tactics to try to maintain control over Darfur and to weaken opposition. In particular, it is using the long-discredited Darfur Peace Agreement (DPA) to muddy the waters at the same time as holding talks with rebel factions in Doha, Qatar, and pursuing other talks inside Sudan.

Complicating matters, in early March the government announced that it intended to create two new states in Darfur (Bahr al-Arab and Jebel Marra), in addition to the existing three (North, South and West Darfur). Furthermore, the government official in charge of negotiations over Darfur, Ghazi Salaheddin Atabani (a presidential adviser and senior NCP figure), said that the government still planned to hold a referendum on the administrative arrangements of Darfur. Such a referendum was provided for by the DPA, but that agreement has always been rejected by the mainstream rebel Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) and the Sudan Liberation Movement/Army (SLM/A) of Abdul Wahid al-Nur, and has even been rejected by Minni Minnawi, the main rebel faction leader who originally signed it. For their part, encouraged by the example of Southern Sudan, JEM and the SLM/A, are now seeking a higher degree of self-determination for Darfur and will not welcome the proposal to divide the region into more states. A negotiated settlement to the conflict is therefore unlikely soon, unless a new approach to peace talks is adopted.