Darfur rebels welcome extension for African forces

The main rebel movement in Darfur welcomed the consent of the African Union to extend the mission of its peace keeping force in Darfur for other 6 months.

The spokesman for the Sudan's Liberation Movement, Mahjoub Hussein, called on the African Union to fully shoulder the responsibility during this grace period, noting that the movement will not accept any new killing in Darfur.

Also the Sudanese government had expressed its satisfaction over what it called "postponing the handing over the mission of the African force to the UN for 6 months, considering that this decision came as a result of the 'diplomatic gear up' practiced by it against dispatching a UN force to the district."

The foreign ministers of nine African states issued after a meeting at the headquarters of the Union in Addis Ababa a statement in which they announced the extension of the African Union mission until September 30 as well as their initial backing to convert the mission of the African Union in Sudan to a mission affiliates to the UN.

The statement urged the leaders of the African Union states to pressure the participants in Abuja negotiation on Darfur to reach an agreement in a period not to exceed April 30 of this year.

For his part, the secretary general of the African Union, Alfa Omar Konari, said that the extension decision will allow his organization to "convince Sudan to accept the UN presence in Darfur."