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(VOA)
The head of the joint African Union/United Nations mission in Darfur is heading to the Qatari capital, Doha to join international efforts to broker a peace deal between Sudan's government and Darfuri rebels.
The Doha talks appear to be picking up momentum as the Darfur peacekeeping mission UNAMID expands its role in the political arena.
Newly-appointed UNAMID Chief Ibrahim Gambari says with Sudan's elections looming, a peace agreement between the government and Darfur rebels is urgently needed. "Time is not on our side. Elections are coming in April, referendum next year. And these are national issues because Darfur cannot be addressed in isolation from the rest of Sudan. We have to pay attention to it, and this puts pressure for the need to conclude a peace agreement first," he said.
With that in mind, Gambari, a former Nigerian foreign minister and veteran UN diplomat is shifting UNAMID's priority from peacekeeping to peacemaking.
He told VOA he will leave for Doha in the next few days to throw his full diplomatic weight behind peace talks led by the joint UN/African Union mediator Djibril Bassole. He says his focus will be on listening to the concerns of the various rebel factions. "The step I intend to take, one is to go to Doha to signal personally my support and that of UNAMID for the peace process, to support Bassole, but also to complete my consultations. So far my consultations have been with government officials of Sudan, now I need to touch base from the rebel movement and hear from them what would promote an early conclusion of the peace process and lead it to agreement," he said.
With the election day looming, negotiators are facing tight time constraints. A Sudanese government representative was quoted as saying an agreement must be in place by the third week of March to have any effect on the April 11 vote.
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