By DPA
Sirte (Libya) : The Sudanese government has called a unilateral ceasefire in its restive western region of Darfur, a Khartoum official announced at peace talks here.
Nafie Ali Nafie, an adviser to Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir, made the announcement Saturday as the talks got underway, the BBC reported.
“We announce a ceasefire from this moment, and we will respect it unilaterally,” Nafie said.
On Saturday, at the UN headquarters in New York, Secretary General Ban Ki-moon urged an immediate end to hostilities in Darfur in an appeal delivered as peace talks opened in Libya.
Only by a halt to the conflict could the negotiating parties show that they are willing to end the suffering of people in the Darfur region, Ban said.
He was not personally able to attend the start of talks, sending his message via special envoy Jan Eliasson.
The UN chief said that plans for a robust peace force comprising UN and African Union troops would contribute to restoring security in the region. But there could be no military solution to the conflict.
Only through political dialogue and comprehensive talks could there be a comprehensive and viable solution, Ban said in his speech.
His remarks came as peace talks started in Sirte, the hometown of Libyan leader Moamer Gaddafi, to try to end the conflict, which erupted in Darfur in February 2003.
Rebels in the region are demanding a greater share of Sudan’s wealth and accuse the Arab government in Khartoum of seizing natural-resource wealth in Darfur at the expense of the local African Muslim population.