African Union push no-fly zone over Sudan’s Darfur -BBC

LONDON, Nov 2, 2004 (Dow Jones) — African Union mediators have presented the Sudanese government and rebel groups with a new security deal, in an attempt to end the conflict in Darfur, reports the BBC on its Web site.

The draft includes a proposal to make Darfur a no-fly zone – a key demand of the rebels.

Spokesmen for each side said the new draft was better than a previous one.

More than 1.5 million people have fled their homes in Darfur and some 70,000 have been killed in the conflict. More fighting is being reported near Nyala.

“There is a very remarkable improvement on the document,” State Minister for Foreign Affairs Najeeb al-Kheir Abdul Wahab told Reuters news agency.

More fighting was reported on Tuesday in the Darfur region of western Sudan between the Sudan Liberation Movement (SLM) rebels and government forces.

The BBC’s reporter in the region says the latest reported fighting took place only 20 kilometers north of Nyala.

Travelers arriving in Nyala on Tuesday afternoon said that they have spotted several bodies lying on the road. Some were wearing uniforms, others the traditional jalabia robe.

As a precautionary measure, U.N. agencies have banned their staff from traveling on that road.

Further on, road blocks set up by Arab militiamen are preventing commercial and humanitarian vehicles from traveling.

The senior AU officer in Nyala, Lieutenant Colonel Henry Mejabi, told the BBC the ceasefire was being violated every day by the government and both rebel sides in Darfur.

Acts of banditry are also on the rise. Civilians have been attacked at roadblocks in the villages and even inside displaced camps.

Meanwhile, the head of the AU’s peacekeeping operation in Sudan , Said Djinnit, has said the organization now has nearly 250 troops in Darfur.

The SLM have threatened to quit the peace talks in Nigeria, if government attacks against villages are not halted.

BBC Web site: http://www.bbc.co.uk