UN, African Union to discuss implementation of Sudan peace deal

KHARTOUM, Jan 19, 2005 (SUNA) — The United Nations and the African Union (AU) are due to discuss horizons of cooperation between them with the aim to boost the implementation of the Sudanese peace agreement on the ground, said George Somerwill, an official at the United Nations Advanced Mission in Sudan (UNAMIS).

In a statement to SUNA, Somerwill said that the Special Envoy of the UN Secretary General to Sudan Jan Pronk will visit Addis Ababa to discuss the future of peace with the AU officials.

He said the recent two-day visit of Pronk to Rumbaik was meant to meet the leaders of the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM) to find a joint work framework; and to discuss the task of the international forces, which the United Nations intends to send soon to keep the peace in Sudan.

He said that the visit was also meant to specify the places where the international forces will be stationed.

Somerwill, further, said that the UN would send around 9,000 to 10,000 troops to South Sudan during the first six months since the signing of the agreement.

He affirmed that the main task of the international troops is to keep the peace and protect the international monitors.