Sudan asks AU to strive to solve Darfur crisis

Jan 15, 2006 (KHARTOUM) — Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir on Sunday asked the African Union (AU) to continue sponsoring peace talks between Khartoum and rebel groups in the western region of Darfur.

Bashir made the appeal while addressing an opening session of a gathering of African universities as part of preparations for the sixth AU summit on Jan 23-24 in Khartoum.

He stressed the role of the AU in settling the conflict between the Sudanese government and two rebel groups in Darfur.

Currently, there are almost 7,000 AU peacekeepers deployed in Darfur.

On Saturday, Foreign Minister Lam Akol expressed reservation over a UN proposal to deploy peacekeeping forces in Darfur to take over from AU forces, which are facing a financial shortage of some 160 million U.S. dollars.

(Xinhua)