Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Khartoum (Fides Service)- This morning the Peace and Security Council of the African Union, meeting at its headquarters in Addis Ababa, capital of Ethiopia, will decide whether or not to hand control of the Darfur region of Sudan scene of fighting and serious violation of human rights to the United Nations. At the moment the African Union has 7,000 peacekeepers in Darfur to provide a security framework for international observers charged with monitoring respect for a cease fire agreement reached between the Sudan army, Arab "Janjaweed" militia and black rebel groups fighting the central government.
It is mainly the Union European Union and the United States who want to see UN peacekeepers in Darfur. Sudan’s vice president Ali Osman Mohamed Taha said his country would accept the presence of UN troops on the condition that “a political agreement on the conflict guaranteed to last is signed”. Taha insisted that a solution to the Darfur crisis must come from talks taking place in Abuja capital of Nigeria between the black African rebels and the central authorities. "Abuja" he said "must take priority because the key to ending the conflict lies in politics. Stressing that on this point the European Union and the United States agree, he added: “The African Union must be given support and help to enable it to guarantee security in Darfur”.
US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice also stressed the urgent need for UN peacekeepers in Darfur the scene of genocide according to the United States. Ms Rice told US Congress in Washington: “We are convinced of the necessity to send UN peacekeepers to the Sudanese region of Darfur”. (L.M.) (Agenzia Fides 10/3/2006 righe 28 parole 347)
