Khartoum (Fides Service)- After signing the peace agreement for southern Sudan the government of Khartoum reached a pact with the National Democratic Alliance composed of various Opposition groups mostly of northern Sudan. The pact will be signed in Cairo on 12 February. In fact Egypt played an major role to mediate the Sudanese crisis. The NDA includes 13 political organisations and 50 trade and professional unions, all Opposition groups.
The war in the western region of Darfur remains to be settled. The conflict, which started with a peoples insurrection on February 2003 has caused 100,00 dead and 1.6 million refugees (according to the UN the worst humanitarian crisis in the last 20 years). The government employed ferocious Arab Janjaweed horsemen to supress
the insurrection. In the meantime UN special envoy for Sudan Jan Pronk said that between 9.000 and 10.000 UN peacekeepers will be deployed in southern Sudan to guarantee the permanent cease fire foreseen by the peace pact signed 9 January in Kenya, the site of lengthy negotiations. The operation will cost at least 100 million dollars and should start in mid February. (L.M.) (Agenzia Fides 19/1/2005 righe 26 parole 297)