Sudan on Tuesday accepted the deployment of a hybrid African Union-United Nations force to its war-ravaged region of Darfur, according to a joint statement by the AU, UN and Sudan.
It said the Sudanese government had ”accepted the joint proposals of the hybrid operation” after obtaining explanations and clarifications from the two international bodies.
Delegates at the three-way talks in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa, ”agreed on the need for an immediate, comprehensible ceasefire accompanied by an inclusive political process”, said the statement read by the AU Peace and Security Commissioner Said Djinnit.
”The proposed operation would contribute considerably to the stabilisation of the situation in Darfur, in its political, humanitarian and security dimensions,” he said.
Khartoum had previously rejected attempts to send UN peacekeepers to Darfur, where a four-year conflict has killed at least 200 000 people and forced more than two million from their homes, according to the United Nations.
Sudan contests the figures, saying 9 000 people have died since the war erupted in early 2003 when ethnic minority rebels rose up against the Khartoum government, which then enlisted the Janjaweed militia group to help crush the rebellion.
There are currently about 7 000 AU peacekeepers in the region but they have been unable to stem the clashes in the region the size of France owing to a severe lack of funding and equipment.
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.
The violence, which has hindered effective humanitarian operations, and the fragmentation of the Darfur rebels, has scuppered efforts to stabilise the region. — AFP
