Sudanese president arrives Nigeria for talks on Darfur with AU chief

ABUJA, Feb 16 (AFP) — President Omar al-Beshir of Sudan arrived Abuja on Wednesday for talks on the crisis in Darfur with his Nigerian counterpart Olusegun Obasanjo, the chairman of the African Union (AU).

Sudanese President Omar al-Beshir (L) sees off his Nigerian counterpart Olusegun Obasanjo at Khartoum international airport. January 8, 2005.(AFP).

He was met on arrival by Obasanjo and other top government officials, airport officials said.

The two leaders immediately went into closed door talks at Abuja international airport, they said.

Sudan’s western Darfur region has been in the grip of fighting between rebel and government forces for the past two years and tens of thousands of civilians are estimated to have been killed by hunger, disease and militia attacks.

The AU has attempted to broker a peace deal but has made little concrete progress amid rising international pressure from outside the continent for United Nations sanctions and even foreign intervention.

Obasanjo has made it clear that he hopes that Africa can resolve the crisis without outside intervention.