AU sues for lasting peace in Sudan’s Darfur Region

ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia, April 12, 2004 (PANA) — Pressing on for a lasting solution to Sudan’s latest conflict in Darfur Region, the African Union has sent its Commissioner for Peace and Security, Said Djinnit, to take part in negotiations between Khartoum and two rebel movements fighting in the country west.

An official of the AU Commission Monday told PANA that Djinnit would also proceed to the Chadian capital, N’djamena, for talks with authorities there on how to deal with the crisis that has driven over 110,000 Sudanese into Chad.

The situation in Darfur will be on agenda of the AU Peace and Security Council when it convenes here this week.

On 8 April the Government of Sudan and its opponents in Darfur, Sudan Liberation Army (SLA) and Justice and Equality Movement (JEM), signed a cease-fire agreement to pave the way for the peace talks.

A senior official of the AU Commission, Ambassador SamIbok, has worked with the opposing parties to reach the agreement, which calls for a Cease-fire Commission to monitor its implementation.

As a result of persistent cross-border raids by marauding militia, believed to have been backed by Khartoum, the UN refugee agency, in collaboration with Chadian authorities, last month had to relocate the Sudanese refugees from the remote border zone to safer areas farther inland.

An armed conflict has been underway since February in Darfur, which shares borders with eastern Chad. Two rebelgroups have resorted to arms allegedly to press Khartoum to allocate more development funds to their “neglected” area.