With Darfur rebels still not in peace pact, Annan to consult African leaders on next steps

Voicing concern that two factions in Sudan’s strife-torn Darfur region missed a deadline to sign a peace accord already endorsed by the largest rebel group, United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan today said he would consult with African Union (AU) leaders on possible follow-up measures.

Despite appeals of the AU and the international community, the Abdulwahid faction of the SLM/A and the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) failed to sign the accord prior to the 31 May deadline set by the AU, Mr. Annan noted in a statement by his spokesman.

The largest SLM/A group signed the peace agreement with the Government at the beginning of last month as part of an AU-led effort to bring peace to Darfur, where three years of fighting between the Government, pro-Government militias and rebels have killed scores of thousands of people and displaced some 2 million others amid charges of the massacre of civilians, rape and other atrocities.

“The Secretary-General deeply regrets this failure and will remain in touch with the AU leadership on the possible follow-up measures, the statement said. “The Secretary-General strongly believes that the only way forward in addressing this devastating conflict is through the implementation of the Darfur Peace Agreement, as well as the decisions of the African Union Peace and Security Council.”

Meanwhile, Assistant Secretary-General Hédi Annabi will brief the Security Council tomorrow on the mission he undertook last month with Mr. Annan’s Special Envoy Lakhdar Brahimi for talks with Sudanese Government leaders talks on strengthening the current AU mission in Darfur (AMIS) and its possible transition to a UN peacekeeping force.

Sudan has not yet agreed to a UN peacekeeping operation for Darfur but Mr. Brahimi said in the Sudanese capital, Khartoum, last week that a joint UN-AU team would go to Darfur to assess needs.

UN Emergency Relief Coordinator Jan Egeland has warned that it is absolutely essential that AMIS receive a more robust mandate to protect the civilian population and humanitarian workers and that its force be at least double the 7,000 personnel authorized at present.