Sudan says committed to Darfur ceasefire agreement
Dec 23, 2006 (KHARTOUM) — Sudan reiterated its commitment to a ceasefire agreement in the troubled western region of Darfur and blamed violence there on rebels who did not sign the 2004 truce in N’Djamena.
“The signatories of the N’Djamena ceasefire agreement, namely the government, (the rebel factions led by) Minni Minawi and Abelwahid al- Nur continue to respect it fully,” said the head of the peace department at the ministry of foreign affairs, Sadek al-Magli.
“It is the (umbrella of holdout groups) National Salvation Front (NFR) which is committing violent acts by attacking government positions and those of Minawi’s movement,” he told the official SUNA news agency.
On Friday, outgoing UN Secretary General Kofi Annan told members of the security council that Khartoum could accept by Saturday a ceasefire in Darfur and the deployment of a proposed hybrid United Nations-African Union force there.
Al-Magli stressed that Sudan was ready to accept an international initiative for a ceasefire as long there was “pressure on holdout factions who did not sign (a peace deal to end fighting in Darfur) to choose peace and negotiations.”
The conflict erupted in the arid desert region of Darfur in February 2003 when ethnic minority rebels complaining of marginalisation launched an uprising, which was fiercely repressed by government troops and allied militias.
A peace deal was signed in May between the government and the main rebel faction from the Sudan Liberation Movement led by Minawi, but the two other negotiating factions rejected the agreement which has failed to take hold.
In August the UN security council adopted resolution 1706 which calls for the deployment of UN troops to take over from the under-funded African Union forces currently in operation there.
But Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir has vehemently rejected such an option, and accused the international community of trying to invade his country and plunder its resources.
According to the United Nations, at least 200,000 people have died from the combined effect of war and famine since fighting erupted almost four years ago in Darfur. Some sources say the toll is much higher.
(AFP)