US welcomes the appointment of new Darfur mediator

July 1, 2008 (WASHINGTON) — The United States today welcomed the appointment of a new joint United Nations (UN) – African Union (AU) mediator for Darfur.

Tom Casey, Deputy Spokesman of the US State Department said in a statement that Washington is “fully committed to the success of the mediator”.

Burkina Faso Foreign Minister Djibril Bassole has been chosen as the new mediator to replace the dual negotiating team of AU special envoy for Darfur Salim Ahmed Salim and his counterpart at the UN, Jan Eliasson.

Salim and Eliasson have been criticized for failing to bring the warring parties to the negotiations.

Eliasson, a former Swedish foreign minister, said he would continue to work as a special adviser on Darfur, but “the situation is so serious now it is extremely important to find realistic lines of action”.

The new peace envoy is expected to be based in al-Fasher something the US said “will facilitate continual interaction with all parties”.

“We call on all parties and regional actors to fully cooperate with Mr. Bassole, cease hostilities, and engage without condition in efforts to achieve a lasting peace for Darfur” the State Department said.

The prospects for a quick return to the negotiation table in Darfur appear slim, observers say particularly after an attack by the Darfur Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) on the Sudanese capital.

Khartoum said it will not negotiate with JEM and urged the world to designate it as a terrorist organization.

International experts also say more than 300,000 were killed and 2 million have been driven from their homes by the conflict in Darfur, a region that is roughly the size of France.

(ST)