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Sudan peace bid hailed amid alarm bells about Darfur crisis

NAIROBI, May 27 (AFP) — Deals paving the way for an end to 21 years of civil war in southern Sudan prompted international praise, tempered by fresh warnings about a humanitarian catastrophe in the western region of Darfur.

The three protocols signed in the Kenyan town of Naivasha late Wednesday by Khartoum and the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement/Army (SPLM/A) on power-sharing and the administration of three disputed regions cap two years of intense political negotiations in Kenya and leave only technical and military aspects of a ceasefire standing in the way of a comprehensive peace accord.

In essence, the texts give the people of southern Sudan what they have been fighting for for decades: an equitable role in their own governance.

The conflict dates back to before independence from Britain in 1956 and was halted with a 1972 accord, which broke down in 1983, since when more than 1.5 million have been killed.

Once the main war is definitively over — a final deal is expected by mid-July — a six-year transition period will kick in, when the south will not only have its own autonomous administration, but also sit on a government of national unity, with SPLM/A leader John Garang becoming first vice president.

After that, the south will hold a referendum on its political future.

But the deals have no bearing on Darfur, where at least 10,000 people have been killed, more than a million displaced and several hundred thousand left at risk of starvation amid a 15-month-old conflict pitting two rebel groups against government forces and their widely reviled militia allies.

UN Secretary General Kofi Annan hailed Wednesday’s accords as “a major step forward.”

But he also called on Khartoum and the “armed opposition in Darfur to seize the momentum created in Naivasha to reach a political solution in western Sudan, putting an end to the grave humanitarian and human rights situations there.”

Garang said after the signing that the protocols laid “down the pillars of inviolate and enduring peace.”

“The tragedy in Darfur, we hope this peace process in Naivasha will have a favourable knock-on effect on the situation there,” he added.

“This is a day for Sudan, for peace, development and stability” echoed his negotiating counterpart, Vice President Ali Osman Taha.

“We are quite sure that the achievement that we have got here today (Wednesday) is going to assist very much in addressing the situation in Darfur,” he added.

Washington, which has closely followed the Kenyan negotiations, also tempered its congratulations.

“We commend both sides for their commitment to peace and urge them to move quickly to work out details of a formal ceasefire,” said US Secretary of State Colin Powell.

“Sudan will not be at peace until the problem of Darfur is resolved,” Powell added, calling on Sudan’s government to rein in the militias blamed for the violence and to take steps to end the massive displacement of civilians.

US-Sudanese relations will not be fully normalised until this happens, Washington has warned.

Germany, Italy, France and the Arab League all issued similar double-edged messages while the African Commission of Human and People’s Rights dedicated its 35th session in Banjul to the Darfur crisis, with activists denouncing “genocidal” crimes against humanity there.

“Ending the war in southern Sudan is a huge step forward, but in the western part of the country, the Sudan government is taking a terrible step backward,” Human Rights Watch said in a statement.

The humanitarian crisis in Darfur is set to worsen with the onset due later this month of the rainy season, when key access roads are likely to be washed out and risks of epidemics rise.

Also Thursday, Annan’s special representative on human rights defenders, Hina Jilani, expressed concern about Khartoum’s alleged detention of human rights monitors in Darfur.

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