The African Union on Tuesday presented the warring parties from western Sudan's Darfur region with a draft peace agreement designed to bring an end to three years of bloodshed.The document was given to delegates at AU-sponsored talks in Abuja just as the UN Security Council in New York was expected to hear a U.S. proposal for targeted sanctions against four individuals driving the conflict.
Pressure is mounting on both the government and the two rebel movements operating in Darfur to reach a peace deal. "Today ... the chief mediator, Dr. Salem Ahmad Salem, will convene a plenary to officially table a comprehensive peace agreement comprising protocols on power-sharing, wealth-sharing and security arrangements," AU spokesman Noureddine Mezni told AFP on Tuesday afternoon.
After months of inconclusive negotiations to end the civil war in the region, the AU and the international community have set an April 30 deadline for wrapping up a deal at the talks in the Nigerian capital.
On Sunday, the AU's chief mediator Sam Ibok unveiled a "final status security agreement for Darfur" and warned that a peace deal "has to be concluded on the April 30 deadline set by the AU Peace and Security Council." He said the "document reflects a careful balance of the concerns and positions expressed by the parties," and urged them to seriously consider it and submit written and oral reactions to the mediation by Monday.