Cease-fire violations are on the rise in Sudan's bloodied Darfur region and the fighting is "poisoning" peace talks, where government and rebel negotiators met Monday for the first time, officials said. Thirteen violations of a cease-fire agreement were confirmed in September and 54 were documented between October and mid-December, said Assane Ba, a spokesman for the African Union, which is mediating the talks. "That means the violations are growing" in the western Sudan region, where the crisis has left tens of thousands dead and nearly 2 million homeless, Ba told reporters at the site of the talks in Nigeria's capital, Abuja.
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