Sudan: UN Envoy calls for immediate end to rebel violence in Darfur

The top United Nations envoy in Sudan today called for an immediate end to hostilities in Darfur, and expressed his concern that violent clashes between rebel factions in the war-torn region were continuing even as the African Union worked tirelessly to keep upcoming peace negotiations on track.

Jan Pronk, the Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Sudan, said the actions of the rebel groups – the Sudan Liberation Movement/Army (SLM/A) and the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) – constituted serious violations of the N’Djamena Ceasefire Agreement.

The UN Mission in Sudan (UNMIS) has reported a number of security-related incidents during the past week in Darfur and in southern and eastern Sudan.

Mr. Pronk said he was disappointed about the fact that these violations were taking place even as the international community and the African Union (AU) were making every effort to assist the parties in achieving a breakthrough during upcoming talks in Nigeria’s capital, Abuja.

The Special Representative called on the rebel groups to heed the African Union’s request to pull their forces out of Graida and the locations vacated by Government troops and/or taken by African Union Mission in Sudan (AMIS) forces. He also urged all parties to fully comply with the letter and spirit of the agreements they signed and with the relevant provisions of the Security Council.

The upcoming round of AU talks in Abuja is scheduled to take place on June 10. Talks there in December stalled, and since then the AU has been working to revive negotiations.