CAIRO: President Hosni Mubarak on Saturday welcomed the signing of the Darfur peace agreement by Khartoum and the region s main rebel faction but urged the other parties to sign. Egypt welcomes the signing of the peace deal last night by the Khartoum government and the Sudan Liberation Movement (SLM), and calls on all Darfur delegates to sign the agreement, a statement from the presidency said. Egypt also called on all parties involved to implement (the agreement) in good faith … to fulfill the higher interests of Sudan and the interests of its citizens. The statement also stressed Egypt s intention to continue with humanitarian assistance to the people of the region and reconstruction efforts, as well as its willingness to send peacekeeping forces to oversee the implementation of the agreement. Egypt has contributed military and police to the African Union mission in Darfur and responded to the humanitarian crisis in the western Sudanese region by airlifting food and medical supplies. The deal was signed in the Nigerian capital Abuja on Friday in the presence of mediators and peace talks host Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo. Another rebel group, the Justice and Equality Movement, and a smaller faction of the divided SLM, led by Abdelwahid Al-Nur, refused to sign saying they would not accept the United Nations-sponsored deal.
Darfur, an arid desert region the size of France, erupted into civil war in early 2003 when armed local movements began fighting the Arab-led government in Khartoum, demanding more autonomy for the region. In response, the Sudanese regime unleashed the Arab Janjaweed militia to carry out brutal attacks on Darfur s largely black population. The war has caused at least 180,000 deaths and left 2.4 million people homeless.
France also welcomed the accord. The government of Sudan and the main rebel movement has had the courage to seize this unique chance to re-establish peace in Darfur and settle this crisis fundamentally, said a statement from France s foreign ministry, which also called on the rebel movements that were still reticent should join in. UN relief coordinator Jan Egeland was due to arrive in Darfur Sunday in the first visit by a United Nations official to the region since the signing of the peace deal. He will have talks with local leaders and visit refugee camps before heading to Khartoum Monday for meetings with Sudanese officials. World leaders have given a cautious welcome to the peace deal but urged the other rebel groups to join it. The accord offers a referendum on the future status of the region, obliges Khartoum to disarm and neutralize the Janjaweed by mid-October, provides for the rebel movements to be represented in the Sudanese government and creates a fund for the reconstruction of Darfur. But analysts warned that a lack of political will to implement the treaty by Khartoum, already accused of reneging on promises from a previous agreement with rebels in southern Sudan, could prove disastrous for the country AFP
