By KUNA,
Paris : The French Presidency of the European Union (EU) welcomed late Tuesday the announcement by the Sudanese government of a unilateral cease-fire in war-torn Darfur, but noted reports of “possible military operations” by Sudanese government forces since the cease-fire began.
“The European Union welcomes the announcement by the Sudanese President of a unilateral ceasefire in Darfur. It solemnly calls on the Sudanese authorities to honour their commitment and urges all parties to follow suit,” a statement issued here said.
The French EU Presidency, which has been pushing for more pressure on Sudan over the humanitarian situation in Darfur, said that the Europeans would be vigilant on the implementation of the cessation of hostilities.
“The EU will keep a close watch on the implementation of this measure, which represents an essential prerequisite in building the trust required in order to re-launch the peace process,” the EU maintained.
In particular, the EU said it wanted to see the disarming of militias allied with the Sudanese authorities, which would include, notably, the infamous Janjaweed, accused of atrocious war crimes against civilians in Darfur these past five years.
Rebel militias are also accused of crimes, albeit to a lesser degree.
This disarming would be done in liaison with the UN and African Union Mission in Darfur (UNAMID).
“The EU urges all parties to desist from violence, respect international humanitarian law and actively engage in the search for a political solution. It calls on the Sudanese authorities and rebel groups to cooperate actively with the AU/UN chief mediator and with UNAMID, in establishing effective arrangements for monitoring the cessation of hostilities,” the statement added.
But there are already some signs that the tenuous cease-fire is under strain and the EU said it wanted reports of incidents to be investigated.
The Europeans also stressed the need to find a political solution to the Darfur problem and urged authorities in Khartoum to examine proposals from opposition groups on “security, power-sharing and compensation for victims.” “The EU calls on the rebel movements to participate constructively in current efforts to resolve the conflict in Darfur,” it was also added.
At the same time, the EU “reiterates its support for the AU/UN chief mediator, Jibril Bassole (and) it applauds the facilitation efforts being made by Qatar, in close coordination with Bassole.” Sudan was also urged to implement all commitments to speed up the deployment of the full complement of UNAMID troops, which are supposed to number 21,000 but are only half that number now.
Sudan has been accused of putting obstacles in the way of the deployment, as well as blocking or restricting humanitarian access to the refugees stranded in Darfur.
Sudan put a moratorium on restrictions on humanitarian access to Darfur, but this is due to soon expire and the EU wants Khartoum to extend it.
Some 250,000 people are believed to have died in Darfur in just over five years of conflict, and two million more have been driven from their homes, some of them in neighbouring Chad, which has strained relations between the two countries.
However, diplomatic ties that were broken off have been resumed, allowing for better communications on the problems of refugees and also of groups crossing the border from one nation to the other.
“The European Union welcomes the resumption of diplomatic relations between Sudan and Chad. This represents a first step in the normalisation of relations between the two countries. The EU calls on both sides to continue along that path, with the support of the contact group for the Dakar Agreement signed on March 13, 2008 and of all States in the region,” the EU said.