Darfur mediator quits and becomes foreign minister Burkina Faso

DOHA (22 Apr) – The chief peace negotiator for Darfur, Djibril Bassole, will leave his job to become again the foreign minister of Burkina Faso. Before Bassole became chief mediator, he had already been the foreign minister of Burkina Faso. Bassole told Sudan Tribune-website that due to his appointment he will quit as joint mediator.

DOHA (22 Apr) – The chief peace negotiator for Darfur, Djibril Bassole, will leave his job to become again the foreign minister of Burkina Faso. Before Bassole became chief mediator, he had already been the foreign minister of Burkina Faso. Bassole told Sudan Tribune-website that due to his appointment he will quit as joint mediator. He said he will soon leave to Khartoum and Doha to follow up on the peace talks between the Sudanese government and rebel groups and stated that he is committed to participate in the Darfur stakeholders’ conference that will take place in Doha next month. However, he stressed that despite his departure “I remain at the disposal of the Sudanese to contribute in resolving the [Darfur] conflict]”. His departure comes after he announced that the mediation will submit a final draft peace agreement on April 27th to the Sudanese government and the two rebel groups participating in the talks. Bassole received popular support for his mediation in contrast to the UNAMID head of |mission Gambari who has been criticized by the Darfur population to be unable to protect the population and the humanitarian operations.