The United Nations and African Union expressed cautious optimism on Thursday over the prospects of a political breakthrough in the troubled Darfur region of western Sudan.
UN envoy Jan Eliasson and AU envoy Salim Ahmed Salim said they were encouraged by the increase in regional initiatives, including the government of south Sudan’s latest effort to find a political solution for Darfur.
”We are now in a higher gear in the political process,” Eliasson told reporters in Khartoum.
The two envoys had just returned from Juba, the capital of south Sudan, where they held talks with First Vice-President and southern leader Salva Kiir over his initiative to convince hold-out rebels to join the peace process.
Khartoum reached a peace agreement with Darfur rebels on May 5 2006 in Nigeria but only one of three negotiating rebel factions endorsed the deal and violence has since spiralled.
”We completely endorse the position of Salva Kiir of trying to get negotiations [going] in south Sudan to help in unifying the movements’ position,” Salim told reporters.
He said Kiir’s initiative had the support of the Sudanese government.
Salim also noted that solutions to regional conflicts also played a role in ending the violence in Darfur, adding he was ”very much encouraged” by a reconciliation deal between Sudan and Chad.
”Without normalisation between Sudan and Chad, it will be very difficult to achieve a breakthrough,” he said.
Under the terms of the accord signed in Riyadh last Thursday, the two countries agreed ”to prevent the use of their territory to shelter, mobilise, train, transit or finance armed opposition movements”.
Sudan and Chad accuse each other of supporting rebel forces in their respective territories amid international fears that the continuing strife in Darfur will spill over into Chad and ignite a regional war.
The raging conflict has cost 200 000 lives and forced two million people from their homes, according to the United Nations, though Khartoum contests those estimates, saying 9 000 people have died. — Sapa-AFP