U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan welcomed Friday's signing of the Abuja peace agreement but urged the two rebel parties who did not endorse the agreement to sign on. “Implementation of the agreement, once concluded, would require that we immediately begin to strengthen the African Union (AU) force on the ground so that they can begin critical implementation of the aspects of the agreement,” Annan told reporters. Annan noted that international donors would have provide more money to assist the under-equipped AU force (AMIS) currently in Darfur. He also noted that only 20 percent of the money needed for the humanitarian effort had been received. “The U.S. has been very generous, but we are looking at the other traditional donors in Europe, and we are also trying to expand the donor base and we are reaching out to the Gulf States and the governments with the capacity to step in and help,” said Annan. U.N. sources said Annan will be sending a letter to all prospective donor member states, including those in the Gulf, to ask for more funds to help AMIS and the humanitarian situation. “I would love to see the kind of generosity that the average man and woman in the street showed at the time of the tsunami,” Annan said. “Whoever can make a contribution, we would urge them to do it, not to leave it to governments alone.” Asked whether the Sudanese government would now give visas to a U.N. assessment team traveling to Darfur, Annan replied, “Absolutely. Because in the discussion we had with them, the government had indicated that if there were to be a peace agreement they would be prepared to engage. Now there is a peace agreement.”
