UN official sees AU as best choice to settle Darfur situation

KHARTOUM, Apr 20, 2005 (Xinhua) — Radia Achouri, spokeswoman for UN Advanced Mission in Sudan (UNMIS), said here Wednesday that the UN sees the African Union (AU) as the best choice to settle the situation in Sudan’s western region of Darfur.

The spokesperson for the United Nations advance mission in the Sudan, Radhia Achouri. (AP).

At a press conference, Achouri backed her claims by citing the AU’s experience in African affairs as well as the capability and wisdom it showed in handling the security situation in Darfur.

Achouri said the AU acted as a mediator between the conflicting parties of Darfur and between disputed tribes to prevent any possible clashes.

There is a need for the upcoming meeting of the AU Council for Peace and Security to adopt a resolution to increase the number of AU monitoring forces in Darfur, she stressed.

Achouri also urged the Darfur conflicting parties to commit to the peace agreements they signed and to abide by the international humanitarian law.

She said attacks against humanitarian personnel “are still continuing”, which threatened the humanitarian operations and the efforts to deliver aid to the needy people in Darfur, describing those responsible for the attacks as a group of bandits and militias and outlaws.

Rebels in Sudan’s western Darfur region took up arms against the government in February 2003, accusing it of neglecting the barren area and arming militia to burn, loot and kill local farmers. During the two-year violence, thousands of people have reportedly been killed and more than one million displaced.

AU-sponsored peace talks in the Nigerian capital of Abuja have so far failed to yield result.