Nigeria to continue efforts for rebels’ acceptance of Darfur peace accord

Jun 22, 2006 (LAGOS) — Nigeria will continue to work for the acceptance of the recent peace agreement on Darfur by all stakeholders in the region, the state-owned News Agency of Nigeria reported on Thursday.

Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo on Wednesday gave the assurance when he received presidential advisor, Bona Malwal, a special envoy of President Omar al-Bashir of Sudan at the State House.

Obasanjo said efforts to persuade the other groups to endorse the peace agreement would be sustained.

The envoy had delivered a letter from Al-Bashir, which conveyed the appreciation of the government and people of Sudan for Nigeria’s role in the achievement of a peace agreement for the Darfur region.

Al-Bashir in the letter praised Obasanjo’s “steadfast commitment to peace in Sudan.”

The envoy assured Obasanjo that the Sudanese government would welcome his continued involvement in the search for lasting peace in the country.

The Darfur conflict, which pits the Sudan Liberation Movement factions and the second rebel group the Justice and Equality Movement against the Sudanese government since February 2003, has claimed many lives and driven more than one million others from their homes.

(ST/Xinhua)