The UN Security Council welcomed today the signing of a fresh peace agreement between the Sudanese government and the main rebel group in Darfur, calling it a substantial step toward ending the conflict there, according to dpa. But the council president, French Ambassador Gerard Araud, called on the parties to implement the agreement, which was worked out with the mediation of the Qatar government and signed in Doha on Tuesday by Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir amd Khalil Ibrahim, leader of the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM). Qatar pledged to finance development projects in Darfur to contribute to the fresh peace agreement, which still has to win final approval by Khartoum and JEM in March. Araud called the Doha agreement a "small light at the end of the tunnel." Previous peace accords between Khartoum and Darfur rebel groups failed to end the conflict that started in 2003 and caused the deaths of an estimated 300,000 people and 2.5 million refugees. While JEM signed the agreement with Khartoum, other smaller rebel groups have not. Fresh heavy fighting erupted in Darfur on Thursday in the town of Deribat in Darfur between the government and the Sudan Liberation Army, which did not sign the peace agreement, the French group Doctors Without Borders reported. Araud said the 15-nation council, which discussed the new development, commended the Emir of Qatar and African Union officials for their efforts in bringing Khartoum and JEM to sign the agreement. The council also acknowledged the "substantial efforts" demonstrated by Chadian President Idriss Deby in facilitating the agreement.
