Chairman of the African Union (AU) Olusegun Obasanjo arrived in Brazzaville, capital of the Republic of the Congo on Saturday in continuation of the wide-ranged consultations on the Darfur crisis in Sudan, according to the News Agency of Nigeria.

Obasanjo, also president of Nigeria, was received at the Brazzaville international airport by Congolese President Denis Sassou-Nguesso, who is one of the leaders attending the peace talks on the Darfur crisis convened by Obasanjo on Aug. 23 in the Nigerian capital Abuja.

Obasanjo's visit is reportedly part of consultations aimed at finding a lasting solution to the Darfur crisis.

Obasanjo would meet all stakeholders in the Republic of the Congo to discuss an end to the crisis that has killed more than 10,000 people and displaced about 1 million others since it broke out 18 months ago.

On July 15, the AU brokered a political dialogue in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa between the Sudanese government and the two rebel groups, yet the talks collapsed due to differences on various issues.

The Abuja meeting, which opened on Aug. 23, was another effort by the 53-nation African bloc aimed at bringing about a political solution to the crisis in Darfur. But it has so far achieved no satisfactory results.

(Xinhua News Agency September 5, 2004)