Darfur agreement delayed
Ambassador Ahmed Haggag, Special Envoy of Egypt's President Hosni Mubarak to Sudan met with Sudanese Vice-President Ali Othman Taha in Abuja for talks on Darfur.
Haggag also held a series of talks with the leaders of Sudan Liberation Army and Justice and Equality Movement in which he stressed the importance of reaching peace agreement with the Sudanese government plus announcing their final status over the cause. In press statements, the ambassador has confirmed that Egypt intensely supports any peace agreement approved by all the Sudanese parties in this regard.
The Washington Post reported that "Sudanese rebels rejected a proposal Sunday to end the bloodshed in the Darfur region, throwing into question the outcome of yet another series of negotiations to put a stop to fighting that has left tens of thousands of people dead. African Union mediators said they would extend the peace talks by 48 hours."
US Deputy Secretary of State Robert B. Zoellick departs today for Abuja, Nigeria, to help the African Union (AU) mediation team find solutions to the remaining issues regarding a peace agreement for Darfur.
Department spokesman Sean McCormack said the United States has worked closely with the AU and other international partners to energize the Abuja peace negotiations, and welcomed the comprehensive negotiating text presented by the AU on April 26.
"The parties have made progress in recent days, but some key issues remain unresolved," the statement said. "The United States urges the Darfur rebel movements to focus on the few key issues that stand in the way of reaching a settlement, and we urge the Government of Sudan to send a senior representative back to Abuja to finalize the peace agreement. All parties should make a concentrated effort," the statement stressed, "to seize this opportunity for peace."
This comes as US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice says President Bush feels "very strongly and very passionately" about the need to get a robust international security force to protect the innocent people of Darfur. "Nobody is talking about NATO forces -- combat forces on the ground. Everybody understands that this will be largely an African Union mission with perhaps some other countries involved in the mission," Rice added.