The United Nations is intensifying its efforts to bring an end to the violence in Darfur by meeting with political leaders in the field, according to top U.N. peacekeeping official Jean-Marie Guehenno, who briefed the Security Council in a closed meeting before speaking to reporters. U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan is meeting Thursday in Addis Ababe with Sudanese officials ahead of the African Union s (AU s) leadership meets in Brazzaville on November 24th to determine the future of its 7,500 troops currently in Darfur, Guehenno said. I think that between now and the 24th, I do hope that the international community will come together, that the AU, the U.N., the government of Sudan bearing in mind what remains a very tragic situation on the ground will make the right decision so we can help the people of Sudan, the people who are suffering, to put an end to that suffering, Guehenno said. We have seen an intensification of military operations, and that needs to stop, Guehenno said. We are calling on all parties to desist from any military action. If the fighting continues on the ground, it will be very difficult to see how any credible political process will take root, he added, stressing that a political solution, such as upholding the Darfur Peace Agreement (DPA), is the way out of the conflict. The Sudanese government has so far resisted U.N. and international pressure to accept a U.N. peacekeeping force on the ground in its troubled western region. The government of Sudan has expressed its support in the package we are developing in support of the AU. The government of Sudan s position on the transition hasn t changed so far, Guehenno said. The fighting in Darfur has crossed the border to neighboring Chad, where 220 people were killed in inter-communal hostilities near the border of Darfur, according to the U.N. refugee agency UNHCR. The Chadian government has also called a state of emergency as Chadians and Darfuris fleeing the conflict are vulnerable to repeated attacks. We are sending an assessment team to Chad and the Central African Republic early next week. We see this as a real priority because we see the conflict as spilling over into the whole region, said Guehenno.
