UN-African Union envoy discusses Darfur with senior Sudanese officials

Ibrahim Gambari, who recently took up his new post as the head of the joint African Union-United Nations peacekeeping mission in Darfur, has met with the Defence Minister to discuss peace prospects in the strife-torn region as part of a series of meetings with Sudanese officials.

Mr. Gambari held talks yesterday in the capital, Khartoum, with General Abdelrahim Mohamed Hussein, expressing appreciation for the warm welcome he has received from the Government and people of Sudan since arriving in the country last week.

He vowed to do his utmost to promote durable peace and security in Darfur, where the AU-UN mission (UNAMID) has been in place since late 2007 to try to quell the violence in the region, where an estimated 300,000 people have been killed and another 2.7 million forced from their homes since fighting erupted in 2003, pitting rebels against Government forces and allied Janjaweed militiamen.

“I shall do my best to work for the implementation of UNAMID’s mandate in a very impartial, fair and transparent manner,” Mr. Gambari said.

The Defence Minister, for his part, expressed the Government’s support for the new envoy’s work.

Their meeting also focused on Chad-Sudan relations, and the two men promised to work closely towards putting the agreement reached last year between the neighbouring nations into place.

Mr. Gambari, who has previously served as Special Adviser on the International Compact with Iraq, Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs, Special Adviser on Africa and head of the UN mission in Angola, plans to meet with other top officials, including Sudanese President Omar Al-Bashir, while in Khartoum.