Sudan committed to political solution to Darfur conflict – Beshir

Nov 28, 2005 (KHARTOUM) — Sudanese President Omar al-Beshir on Monday reiterated his commitment to solving the Darfur conflictthrough negotiations.

Al-Beshir made the remarks in a speech addressing the parliament on Monday, one day ahead of a new round of peace talks with Darfur rebels to kick off in the Nigerian capital of Abuja.

“Our commitment to the process of negotiations will be kept moving and we will go on adopting the policy of openness toward any contributions from the world that aim at achieving a peaceful compromise,” said al-Bashir.

In addition, al-Beshir reasserted that the Sudanese government will continue efforts to end violence in Darfur and try to stop security violations by Darfur conflicting sides.

Delegations of the Sudanese government and the Darfur rebels are expected to arrive in Abuja later on Monday and resume talks on Tuesday.

Rounds of peace talks under the auspices of the African Union have failed to strike a settlement so far.

The previous round of negotiations ended without tangible progress due to a split in the Sudan Liberation Movement, a key Darfur rebel group.

Rebels took up arms against the government in February 2003, accusing Khartoum of negligence. Many people have been killed in the over two-year-long violence and more displaced.

(Xinhua)