AU, EU call for cease-fire in Darfur region

YAOUNDE, Nov 27, 2004 (Xinhua) — The African Union (AU), the European Union (EU) and Chad on Saturday appealed to all parties to the conflict in Sudan’s troubled Darfur region to end their hostilities and strictly abide by the truce reached in April.

After a two-day meeting in N’djamena, capital of Chad, the AU, the EU and Chad said in a statement that the conflicting parties should stop opening new battle fields outside their controlled areas and provide aid and protection for millions of refugees in the region.

All sides must keep their promises to present reports on their military deployment and militia demilitarization to the cease-fire monitor committee within one month, the statement said.

The statement also urged all sides concerned to cooperate with the committee.

The Darfur conflict, described by the United Nations as the world’s worst humanitarian crisis, began in February 2003 when the Sudan Liberation Army and allied Justice and Equality Movement took up arms against what they saw as years of state neglect and discrimination against the Sudanese of African origin.

The conflict has killed thousands of people and forced more than one million others to either flee to neighboring Chad or be internally displaced.