UN envoy continues forging ahead with historic Darfur peace talks

The top United Nations envoy for the war-ravaged Sudanese region of Darfur is continuing to hold meetings as part of the landmark peace talks in Sirte, Libya, to end the crisis which has killed hundreds of thousands of people and forced more than two million others to flee their homes.

Today, Jan Eliasson, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s Special Envoy for Darfur, met with Sudanese presidential adviser Nafie Ali Nafie in Sirte where they reviewed the progress made during the talks thus far.

Mr. Nafie told the Special Envoy that his Government will participate in the second of the three Sirte phases, which entails consultations in both Libya and elsewhere with all sides prior to the last stage set to take place next month.

Mr. Eliasson – who is co-chairing the Sirte talks with his African Union (AU) counterpart Salim Ahmed Salim – also conferred with representatives of the Darfur movements which welcomed the plan and took a unified position, according to Mr. Ban’s spokesperson.

Following that meeting, the Special Envoy held talks with international observers and regional partners who also pledged their support to the AU-UN team in its upcoming mediation efforts.

Tomorrow, Mr. Eliasson will leave for Europe and then travel to New York where he is scheduled to brief the Security Council.

Tayé Brook Zerihoun will stay on in Sirte as the head of the UN team, along with the AU’s Sam Ibok.