Little tangible progress in Darfur peace process: UN peacekeeping chief

UN peacekeeping chief Herve Ladsous said Thursday that little tangible progress has been made in the peace process in Sudan's Darfur region and called for long-term solutions that would allow 2.6 million displaced people to return or resettle.

"Civilians remain exposed to significant sources of insecurity such as inter-communal conflict and criminality, including the activities of armed militias," said Ladsous while briefing the UN Security Council on Darfur.

He noted that there had been a significant decrease in armed conflict, particularly due to the Sudanese government's military successes against the armed movements and the efforts to reduce inter-communal violence.

On the political front, he said there has been "little tangible progress" in the Darfur peace process, adding that "the linchpin of the process and future political talks, which is an agreement on the cessation of hostilities and humanitarian assistance, has remained stalled."

The UN peacekeeping chief stressed the need for long-term comprehensive solutions to create the necessary conditions for the return and resettlement of the 2.6 million people who remain displaced and for the resolution of the underlying causes of conflict related to access to land, water and other natural resources.

Sudan's permanent representative to the UN Omer Dahab Fadl said his government was doing everything it could to establish a holistic and long-term peace across his country in an effort to put an end to the conflict.

Sudan's Darfur region has been witnessing a civil war since 2003, where major armed groups in the region refuse to join the Doha Document for Peace in Darfur (DDPD) that was signed in Doha, Qatar in 2011. Endit