Sudan demands armed forces in Darfur restrain themselves

KHARTOUM, May 3, 2005 (Xinhua) — The Sudanese government on Tuesday urged Sudanese armed forces in Darfur to continue their self- restraint toward the Darfur crisis, the Sudan News Agency reported.

Sudanese national troupes. Sudan says it will immediately and unconditionally cease hostilities in its remote Darfur region, and has asked the United Nations and African Union to request that rebel forces do the same. (Reuters).

Sudanese First-Vice President Ali Othman Mohammed Taha, who chaired an expanded ministerial meeting, was quoted as saying that the armed forces should restrain themselves to avoid deteriorating the situation in Darfur.

Taha stressed the need to intensify the humanitarian work in the troubled region of Darfur and to support the efforts of reconciliation between the different tribes in Darfur.

Speaking to reporters after the meeting, Sudanese minister of state Tigani Fideil said the African Union has proposed a political program to the Sudanese government as a base for the upcoming peace talks with the Darfur rebel groups.

He added that his government is studying the program and the government has adopted a scientific approach to follow up the issue to reach a solution.

Sudan’s arid and impoverished western region of Darfur has been in the grip of civil war for more than two years, after black African groups rebelled against what they see as persecution from Khartoum’s Arab-led government.

Thousands of people are estimated have been killed and more displaced from their homes.

The AU has brokered a shaky ceasefire and sent a small force of military observers, but its struggle to find a political solution in three previous rounds of talks in the Nigerian capital Abuja has made little progress.