Mediators say Sudan’s Darfur ceasefire ‘scrupulously respected’

NDJAMENA, April 13 (AFP) — Chadian mediators in the conflict that has claimed up to 10,000 lives in western Sudan’s Darfur region said that a ceasefire called at the weekend was holding.

“We have recorded no formal complaint of a ceasefire violation,” a mediator told AFP on condition of anonymity.

The mediators’ comments were echoed by Sudanese Foreign Minister Mustafa Osman Ismail, who rejected US “allegations” that Khartoum had broken the ceasefire, which he said Sudan’s forces had been told to observe.

The United States had on Monday accused the Sudanese government and allied militias of violating the ceasefire.

“We are pleased with the scrupulous respect of the ceasefire by the two sides since it took effect on Sunday,” the mediator said.

“Consultations are under way between Chad and the African Union for the setting up of a commission to oversee the ceasefire in conformity with the clauses of the Ndjamena accord” signed last week, he said.

Sudan’s Ismail said that the accusations from Washington were “an attempt to denounce Sudan, using erroneous information supplied by organisations who usually work against the country”.

About 670,000 people have been displaced by the year-long conflict and another 100,000 have fled to eastern Chad. But most of those still inside Sudan cannot be reached by foreign aid.

The accord calls for a renewable 45-day truce, free access for humanitarian aid, the release of prisoners and the disarmament by Khartoum of armed militias fighting alongside government troops in Darfur.

New talks are set for April 20 in the Chadian capital to discuss political issues and seek a “definitive settlement.”

The mediator said he hoped a parallel meeting would be held to set up the ceasefire monitoring committee.