The Special Envoy of the UN Secretary General for Darfur, Jan
Eliasson said on Wednesday that he "worried" over an escalation of
tension in the western Sudanese region of Darfur.
The UN envoy made the remarks following a meeting with Sudanese
Presidential Advisor and Chief Negotiator of the Sudanese
government on Darfur Nafie Ali Nafie.
"We call on all the parties to hold the responsibility, restrain
themselves and respect the exerted efforts," the UN envoy told
reporters.
He noted that more preparations were needed for the upcoming
round of peace negotiations between the Sudanese government and
Darfur rebel groups in Libya on October 27.
Eliasson arrived in Khartoum on Tuesday from Addis Ababa, where
he co-chaired with AU Special Envoy Salim Ahmed Salem a two-day
meeting of UN and AU mediators to finalize preparations for the
Darfur negotiations.
After arriving in the Sudanese capital, the UN envoy held a
meeting with representatives of leaders of Darfur Arab tribes.
In a statement issued on Wednesday, the UN Mission in Sudan (
UNMIS) reported that following the attack taking place on October 8
at Muhajariya, South Darfur State, an estimated 6,000 civilians
residing at the town fled northward to seek refuge at a base of the
African Union (AU) peacekeeping force.
Other residents reportedly fled to neighboring villages and the
surrounding areas, leaving the town, which had a population
estimated at 20,000 inhabitants, completely deserted, the statement
added.
A large number of houses in Muhajariya have been burnt to the
ground, as well as several shops in the market.
It quoted unconfirmed reports as saying that tens of civilians
were killed and wounded, and tens are missing, including
children.
The Sudan Liberation Movement (SLM), a former rebel faction led
by Mini Arkou Minawi who signed the Darfur Peace Agreement (DPA)
with the Sudanese government in 2006, accused the government troops
of launching the attack.
The Sudanese government denied the accusation, saying that the
fighting at Mehajaria was a clash between rival tribal armed
groups.
The attack at Mehajaria came only ten days after a similar
attack on a base of the AU peacekeeping force at Hakanita, South
Darfur State, which led to the killing and wounding of some 20
peacekeepers.
Local analysts linked the recent escalation of tension in Darfur
with the upcoming peace negotiations, as well as the planned
deployment of a hybrid UN-AU peacekeeping force in the region by
the end of this month.
(Xinhua News Agency October 11, 2007)
