AU official in Sudan: commitment to achieving peace in Darfur

The head of delegation of the AU Peace and Security Council arrived in Sudan on Sunday and reiterated its commitment achieve peace and stability in Darfur with the international community, the government of Sudan and relevant parties. Bulus Paul Lolo, who is also the Nigerian ambassador to Ethiopia, said that addressing the security and humanitarian situation on the ground is one of the principal issues. He held separate meetings in El Fasher on Monday with the government of North Darfur, members of the Regional Authority on the Doha Peace Document for Darfur (DDPD) and non-signatory armed movements. Radio Dabanga has learned the ambassador was briefed about ongoing negotiations over achieving sustainable peace for the people of Darfur. He called upon the government to ensure its responsibilities are fully met.   This visit to Darfur comes in addition to the Council’s previous field visits to the region, being the latest in 2010, he said.   Lolo stressed the importance of achieving justice, reducing impunity and caring for the vulnerable groups in Darfur, in which women and children are included. The AU Peace and Security Council delegation comprises 24 ambassadors, in a visit considered to be third of its kind since the outbreak of the crisis in Darfur. The ambassadors arrived in Nyala on Tuesday and the Governor of South Darfur asked them to pressure armed movements to engage in the Doha peace process and “stop undermining security and stability in the region”. Governor Hamad Ismail stressed his commitment to the DDPD and called upon Africans in general to contribute more to it. Lolo disclosed the visit to Darfur was also meant to provide support to UNAMID on the ground telling reporters in Nyala the trip was a “useful opportunity for the delegation to be in contact with the people in the region”. He called upon non-signatory movements of the DDPD to join the peace process and emphasized that “weapons and the use of violence would not help them achieving their goals, which would be rather achieved by joining the negotiation table”. SRF The non-signatory Sudan Revolutionary Front (SRF), a coalition that includes three Darfur rebel groups, told Radio Dabanga it is not “possible” for them to consider the Council’s request for them to join negotiations. “SRF factions and other forces of the New Dawn Charter agreed to topple the regime as an option for the Sudanese people”, they said. Jibril Adam Bilal, spokesman of the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM), told Radio Dabanga the AU Council should support the “option of the Sudanese people” who united to overthrow the regime. The spokesman said the AU delegation in Darfur did not get actually learn about the conditions of the displaced, considering they did not visit camps or villages. “Their trip is in line with the government’s program”, he suggested.     Bilal said the current situation in the region is worse than it was in 2003 when the war started and wondered how the delegation wants to support UNAMID: “The mission does not work without orders of the government, it is not allowed to move without permission and cannot even protect itself”. Photo: The African Union (AU) Peace and Security Council chairperson, Ambassador Bulus Paul Zom Lolo (from Nigeria) talks during the meeting with the assistant of the Darfur Regional Authority (DRA) Chairperson, Yasseen Abdurahman Youssef at the DRA headquarters in El Fasher, North Darfur (Albert González Farran/ UNAMID).