Gambari requests international cooperation

Says Darfur is currently in a moment of transitionIbrahim Gambari, the head of the United Nations-African Union Mission in Darfur (UNAMID) requested on Monday that the African Union and the international community act decisively over Darfur.“The Darfur region of Sudan currently faces an important moment of transition and the African Union along with the international community need to act decisively and collectively to consolidate the political and humanitarian gains made recently as well as encourage further progress,” Gambari said in a statement.Gambari told the African Union’s Peace and Security Council (PSC) that renewed violence would undermine substantial progress made since the signing of the Doha Document for Peace in Darfur (DDPD) between the government and the Liberation and Justice Movement (LJM) on July 14, 2011.Hostilities may be resumed“The prospects for a resumption of hostilities in Darfur cannot be discounted,” Gambari told a PSC meeting in Addis Ababa. ”Renewed fighting would not only present a challenge to UNAMID’s mandate to protect civilians but also seriously undermine the implementation of the DDPD and efforts to conduct a credible internal dialogue.”Gambari said the Sudanese government had positively demonstrated its commitment to implementing the DDPD by appointing a Darfuri to the post of second vice-president and the Head of the LJM, Tijani Sese as chair of the Darfur Regional Authority (DRA).Noting the increase in belligerent rhetoric against the government by major armed movements that have not joined the peace process, Gambari added, “It is doubly important that the African Union and the international community stress in words and actions their opposition to the military means chosen to advance political objectives.”He urged the council to encourage all parties to the conflict to pursue the path of negotiations and support a credible and inclusive internal dialogue.