U.S. and European media

May 1, 2023

Bloomberg: Darfur Truce 'Within Reach' to Gain Peace Accord, U.S. Says. A cease-fire agreement that might end the conflict in the Darfur region of Sudan is "within reach," the spokesman for the U.S. State Department said in an appeal to all armed groups to join peace talks. "An interim cease-fire is within reach, one which will allow the armed movements and the government of Sudan to achieve a comprehensive solution that includes security, individual compensation, wealth-sharing, respect for land rights and political participation by all the people of Darfur," State Department spokesman Robert Wood said in an e-mailed statement. Wood said the U.S. urges all parties to the six-year-old conflict to attend peace talks in Doha, Qatar, and "cease all provocations and violent actions in Darfur." He also welcomed "Libya-mediated and Qatari-sponsored bilateral talks in Doha" to end cross-border violence between Sudan and Chad.

Reuters: Rebels criticise U.N. report on Darfur conflict. A Darfur rebel group criticised on Thursday a U.N. report which said violence in Sudan's western Darfur region had subsided into a "low-intensity conflict". "We in the Sudan Liberation Army strongly condemn this fabricated ... and unfortunate report," Al-Sadig Rokero told Reuters via satellite phone. Rokero is from a branch of the SLA controlled by its founder Abdel Wahed Mohamed Ahmed el-Nour. He said refugees, internally diplaced persons (IDP) and civilians had handed a letter to the rebel group's chief commander saying they would not deal with the joint U.N.-AU peacekeeping mission in Darfur, known as UNAMID, unless Adada retracted the report. "This decision is effective today. It means UNAMID personnel cannot enter the liberated areas based on the objection of IDPs, refugees and civilians and the decision of the chief commander unless there is a correction in the fabricated report ... and a clear apology to the people and the world."

Reuters: UN extends peackeepers' mandate in southern Sudan. The Security Council on Thursday extended for another year the mandate of U.N. peacekeepers in southern Sudan who monitor compliance with a peace deal that ended Sudan's two-decade-long civil war. All 15 members of the council voted in favor of a resolution renewing the mandate for the United Nations Mission in Sudan (UNMIS) until April 30, 2010. The council also condemned "all acts and forms of violence" against the people of Sudan, according to a copy of the U.S.-drafted resolution obtained by Reuters ahead of the vote. In the resolution, the council "urges all Sudanese parties to demonstrate their full commitment to the democratic process by preparing expeditiously for the conduct of peaceful, transparent, and credible elections in February 2010." The resolution contained an indirect reference to the continuing conflict in Sudan's western Darfur region. It referred to "the importance of providing humanitarian assistance to the civilian populations throughout Sudan" -- which diplomats said referred to Khartoum's expulsion of 13 foreign and three domestic aid agencies from Sudan in March.

The Darfur Daily News is a service of the Save Darfur Coalition. To subscribe to the Daily News, please email [email protected]. For media inquiries, please contact Ashley Roberts at (202) 478-6181, or [email protected].