African Union urges Sudan foes to halt hostilities in Darfur

NAIROBI, Dec 10 (AFP) — African Union Commission Chairman Alpha Oumar Konare has urged Khartoum government and rebels to halt truce-violating hostilities in the western province of Darfur, according to statement released.

Government troops on Wednesday launched an operation in Darfur’s areas of Bilel and Isham, “to clear roads of lawless elements,” which could result to renewed clashes with rebel Sudan Liberation Movement/Army (SLM/A), the African Union statement warned.

Late last month, clashes between the two sides erupted in North Darfur’s town of Tawilla for several days and sent aid workers freeing the area.

The new operation “equally constitutes a serious and unacceptable violation” of the ceasefire agreement signed in April and the two protocols to promote security signed in November, it added.

Konare “urges all parties to put an immediate end to all hostilities and demands that they abide by the,” ceasefire and security deals, said the statement sent to AFP from the AU headquarters in Addis Ababa.

AU’s call comes as Darfur’s rebel leaders held preliminary talks with AU mediators in Abuja ahead of the latest round of peace negotiations aimed at halting a conflict that started in February 2003.

The substantive talks, earlier scheduled to resume Friday, were postponed by 24 hours due to flight problems by some delegates, AU spokesman Assane Ba said; adding that they were now due to start at 4:00 pm (1500 GMT) on Saturday.

Konare warned that the AU Commission would bring any serious violations to the attention of the AU Peace and Security Council as well as the UN Security Council for appropriate action.

But in Khartoum, cabinet minister and peace delegate Abdallah Safi al-Nur was quoted by the Akhbar Al Youm daily as saying that peace talks would be meaningless if ceasefire violations persisted.

“The recent violations by the holders of arms will cast shadows on the negotiations,” the paper quoted al-Nur as saying.

The conflict in Darfur erupted after minority tribe rebels took up arms against the Sudanese government, prompting a heavy-handed response by Khartoum and allied militia.

Tens of thousands of people have been killed and around 1.6 million others displaced by the conflict that has spawned what the UN has described as the world’s worst humanitarian crisis.