AU seeks peace in Darfur

2006-04-07 07:47

Addis Ababa - An African Union mediator called on Thursday for the Sudanese government and Darfur rebels to make the difficult political decisions necessary to bring peace talks to a successful conclusion by the end of the month.

Ahmed Salim Ahmed said: "The Abuja peace talks are at a critical stage now, we have done all what can be done on most of the issues, now it is time for a political decision."

Ahmed had been leading talks in Nigerian to end the three-year war that had claimed 300 000 lives.

He said: "The issue now is to know how much political commitment there is on the side of the Sudanese government to take the necessary decisions ... and how much political commitment there is on the side of the (rebel) movements to understand that despite their aspirations they can't have everything.

"They have to be realistic and to take decisions now."

300 000 people killed

War broke out in Darfur in February 2003 after rebel groups revolted against what they said was the political and economic marginalisation of the region's black African ethnic groups by the Arab-dominated regime in Khartoum.

The government responded by unleashing the Janjaweed militia, a force of mounted gunmen, which had been blamed for many atrocities in a conflict that had left as many as 300 000 people dead and more than two million homeless.

Ahmed said the peace talks were still progressing agonisingly slow. He said: "I believe that the end of the Abuja process is in sight. For our part, we are committed to meeting the deadline of the 30th of April."

The AU's peace and security council recently set the end of April as the deadline for conclusion of the Abuja talks.

- AFP