Sudan’s Bashir assures US’s Bush he wants Darfur peace deal
May 2, 2006 (KHARTOUM) — Sudanese President Omar al-Beshir assured his US counterpart George W. Bush that he was determined to reach an agreement to end the three-year-old conflict in Darfur, the official SUNA news agency reported Tuesday.
Beshir received a telephone call from Bush, who expressed his concern over the situation in the western Sudanese region amid a push by Washington to broker a deal with rebels at peace talks in Nigeria.
“President Beshir reiterated the national unity government’s commitment and determination to reach a peace agreement and achieve stability in Darfur,” the news agency said.
Negotiators from the Sudanese government and the two Darfur rebel groups face a Tuesday night deadline to reach a deal after African Union mediators gave the rebels a two-day extension.
Washington, which has accused Khartoum and its allied Janjaweed militia of genocide against non-Arab minority groups in Darfur, announced Monday it was sending Deputy Secretary of State Robert Zoellick to the talks in Abuja.
Khartoum has said it is ready to sign the draft peace agreement submitted to the warring parties but rebel leaders have expressed misgivings about the proposals for sharing wealth and power between the central and regional governments.
An estimated 300,000 people have died of the combined effect of war and famine in Darfur since the fighting erupted in February 2003. More than two million have fled their homes.
(ST)