Darfur: Ban welcomes commitment on prisoner release by Government, rebels

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today welcomed a commitment to release prisoners agreed upon by the Government of Sudan and a major rebel movement of the country’s violence-torn Darfur region.

The commitment is part of the “Agreement of goodwill and confidence-building for the settlement of the problem in Darfur” signed in Doha, Qatar on 17 February between the Sudanese Government and the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM).

“This represents a concrete step in the ongoing efforts to negotiate a peaceful settlement to the Darfur conflict,” according to a statement released by Mr. Ban’s spokesperson.

The Secretary-General also called upon the parties to act in good faith to further implement this agreement, urging them to work with the African Union (AU)-UN Joint Chief Mediator and the Government of Qatar toward a cessation of hostilities and a comprehensive peace accord.

An estimated 300,000 people have been killed and another 2.7 million have been forced from their homes since fighting erupted in Darfur in 2003, pitting rebels against Government forces and allied Janjaweed militiamen.

In other news from the area, senior officials of the AU-UN Mission in Darfur (UNAMID) have visited thousands of civilians who recently fled fighting in south Darfur to the Zam Zam camp for internally displaced persons (IDPs) near the town of El Fasher.

The officials met yesterday with local Umdas, or traditional representatives, as well as other leaders, including spokespersons for women and youth, UNAMID said.

More than 14,000 IDPs had arrived in the camp from the south in recent weeks, the Umdas told them, expressing concern over the lack of security, food, hygiene, health services and educational opportunities there.

In response, Henry Anyidoho, UNAMID Deputy Joint Special representative, said that the mission would do the utmost to ensure the safety of Zam Zam residents, as negotiations continued to resolve the conflict so that IDPs can return to their original communities.

“Our hope is that we shall bring peace to Darfur so people can go home and live a normal live again,” he said, warning that for peace to truly take effect in the region, all factions in the conflict must agree to stop fighting.