UN envoy sees return of stability in Darfur
KHARTOUM, May 11 (AFP) — The UN special envoy for Sudan said that stability has returned to the troubled western region of Darfur which has been hit by civil war since February 2003.
“We have very good news today, there is now stability in Darfur as far as the government and rebels are concerned,” Jan Pronk told a news conference in the Sudanese capital.
A ceasefire which the government signed in March 2004 with the two main rebel groups in Darfur, which both sides have regularly accused each other of violating, finally seems to be holding, according to Pronk.
But despite the hiatus in fighting between government forces and rebels in Darfur, which the United Nations described last year as the scene of the world’s worst current humanitarian crisis, lawlessness is still rife, he said.
“There are some attacks by bandits, not by the government or the rebels … At least one person is killed every three days,” said the UN envoy.
He said bandits were also to blame for attacks on vehicles carrying humanitarian aid to the people of Darfur, where more than two years of conflict have left some 300,000 people dead and over two million displaced.
Pronk criticized the rebels, however, for stalling resumption of political negotiations with the government over their demands for greater autonomy for the region of about six million people.
African Union-sponsored peace talks between the warring parties in Abuja, Nigeria, collapsed last year.
“The government wants to resume the talks in Abuja. The rebels also say so but they haven’t done so yet,” said Pronk, referring to statements from the two sides of readiness to resume negotiations.
“The rebels are moving around the world, Libya, Oslo … instead of sitting down for the talks with the government. They said they want talks without condition but they are moving around,” the UN envoy added.
Libyan leader Moamer Kadhafi, after talks with Darfur rebel delegations, announced Wednesday that Tripoli is to host an African mini-summit on Darfur on May 16.