African Union to present draft of Darfur peace agreement
April 25, 2006 (ABUJA) — The African Union was Tuesday to present the warring parties from western Sudan’s devastated Darfur region with a draft peace agreement designed to bring an end to three years of bloodshed.
The document will be given to delegates at AU-sponsored talks in Abuja just as the UN Security Council in New York is expected to hear a US proposal for targeted sanctions against four individuals driving the conflict.
Pressure is mounting on both the government and the two rebel movements operating in Darfur to reach a deal to end a war that has left up to 300,000 people dead from violence or disease and more than 2.4 million homeless.
“Today at 6:00 pm the chief mediator, Salim Ahmed Salim, will convene a plenary to officially table a comprehensive peace agreement comprising protocols on power-sharing, wealth-sharing and security arrangements,” AU spokesman Noureddine Mezni said.
After months of inconclusive negotiations to end the civil war in the region, the AU and the international community have set an April 30 deadline for wrapping up a deal at the talks in the Nigerian capital.
On Sunday, the AU’s chief mediator Sam Ibok unveiled a “final status security agreement for Darfur” and warned that a peace deal “has to be concluded on the April 30 deadline set by the AU Peace and Security Council.”
He said the “document reflects a careful balance of the concerns and positions expressed by the parties,” and urged them to seriously consider it and submit written and oral reactions to the mediation by Monday.
The Khartoum delegation said it had submitted its position on a proposed security agreement.
“We have submitted our position to the AU today … and that will constitute a basis for agreement, with some amendments,” Khartoum government chief negotiator Majzoub al-Khalifa told AFP late Monday.
In an audiotape attributed to wanted Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden aired on Sunday, he called on Muslim fighters to prepare for a “prolonged war” in Darfur, in an apparent attempt to derail the peace process.
He said Muslims in Sudan and surrounding countries should be ready to fight the “crusader robbers” in Darfur. Western forces have been giving logistical support to AU peacekeeping troops in Darfur.
NATO currently provides air transport for the 7,000-strong AU force. Foreign ministers of the 26-member alliance were expected to discuss a larger logistical role at their meeting in Sofia on Thursday and Friday.
Washington has also expressed frustration at delays in proposals to bolster security in Darfur by replacing an AU peacekeeping contingent with a larger UN force and giving it greater NATO support.
The Security Council will be presented Tuesday with a US proposal to freeze the assets of a senior government military official, a pro-Khartoum militia leader and two Darfur rebel commanders, and ban them from travelling.
(ST)