Assembly/AU/3 (X) Page 13 (SPLM) took the initiative to bring to Juba many of the non-signatories during the months of October and November 2007. The Juba process was concluded on 29 November 2007. As a result of this process, the Movements united the 17 groups and other individuals into two broad coalitions. However, the two groups requested more time to go back to the field and consult with their respective constituencies in order to strengthen the gains made in Juba and possibly come out with a unified negotiating team and position. 58. The Darfur Peace Talks opened in Sirte, Libya, on 27 October 2007. The inaugural ceremony was presided by the Libyan Leader and attended by various members of the international community. Unfortunately, some of the leaders of the Movements, including Abdulwahid El Nour, from the Sudan Liberation Movement/Army (SLM/A), and Khalil Ibrahim, of the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM), refused to attend the Sirte Talks. 59. Subsequently, and as part of the efforts to promote the Sirte process, the two Special Envoys convened a meeting with the regional partners, in Asmara, Eritrea, on 14 November 2007. They held another meeting with the regional partners in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt, on 4 December 2007. The participants agreed that the Juba unification process had ended on a positive note. They also agreed on the need to give more time to the Movements to enable them finalize their re-organization. Finally, they agreed on the desirability of having another Arusha type meeting, which would bring together the leaders/ representatives of the various movements. 60. Furthermore, the two Special Envoys undertook a visit to the Sudan from 13 to 19 January 2008, to assess the progress made regarding the unification of the ranks of the Movements, to solicit the views of the Sudanese parties on the need for holding an Arusha-type meeting and their readiness to commence the substantive negotiations. Currently, there are five major groups: the two established in Juba – United Resistance Front (URF) and the SLM/A/Abdul Shafie -, the SLM/A-Unity (Abdallah Yahiya), the SLM/A (Abdulwahid) and the JEM (Khalil Ibrahim). While the Government, the URF and the SLM/A-Unity expressed their readiness for any of these two encounters, the SLM/A-Abul Shafie stated that it would need more time to consolidate the gains made in Juba and that it would not be ready before the end of March. Mr. Abdulwahid El Nour and Dr. Khalil Ibrahim continue to put forward preconditions for their participation in any meeting. The Special Envoys decided to intensify their consultations with the parties in order to move the process forward. 61. With regard to peace keeping aspects, it should be recalled that, at its meeting held on 22 June 2007, the PSC endorsed the deployment, as soon as possible, of the AU/UN Hybrid Operation (UNAMID). This was followed by the adoption by the Security Council, on 31 July 2007, of resolution 1769 (2007) authorizing the establishment of UNAMID for an initial period of 12 months. The force generation process is in progress at the UN Department for Peacekeeping Operations (UNDPKO) in New York, in cooperation with the AU. Contributions are still outstanding, especially in areas of aviation and heavy ground transportation units. Between October and December 2007, a joint AU-UN high ranking operational and advisory team visited potential Troop Contributing Countries (TCCs) to provide necessary advice and assistance to TCCs. From 19 to 21 November 2007, a combined AU-UN special task force was dispatched to Ethiopia and Egypt to determine the possibility of the deployment, on a fast track basis, of two infantry