A visiting UN Security Council delegation on Friday pledged support for the efforts to realize peace in Sudan's troubled western region of Darfur.

This was the first visit to Darfur by the ambassadors of the Security Council's 15 member states, where tens of thousands of people have been killed and some one million displaced since rebels took arms against Khartoum government in early 2003.

"The basic aim is to support peace and sovereignty of Sudan, boost the peace process and help Sudan become a country free of conflicts and crisis," head of the delegation and British ambassador to the UN, Emyr Jones Parry, told reporters in al- Fashir, capital of the North Darfur state and the biggest city in Darfur.

He underlined international support for implementation of two peace accords, namely the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) reached between the Sudanese government and the former southern rebel Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLA) in January last year and the Darfur Peace Agreement (DPA) which the government signed with a main Darfur rebel faction on May 5.

"We have stressed our readiness to stand behind the two agreements and help all the parties to implement them in order to realize peace and security," the British ambassador said.

During a meeting between the delegation and state governor of North Darfur, Osman Mohammed Yousuf Kibr, earlier Friday, Parry said that the UN was ready to support the DPA and help the African Union improve the security, humanitarian and development situation in Darfur.

"That will not be realized without cooperation and consultation with the Sudanese government," he said.

Parry said that the Security Council did not want to impose words on Sudan. "What we want is the fruitful partnership in order to effectively implement the DPA."

He disclosed that Sudanese President Omer al-Bashir had assured his delegation that the government would disarm the Janjaweed militia, the armed Arab group held responsible for the killing of tens of thousands of non-Arab tribesmen in the region.

"This is very important step for the safety of the citizens in Darfur," the British diplomat said.

Meanwhile, officials of the AU Mission in Sudan (AMIS) called on the international community to extend additional assistance and help strengthen the AU peacekeeping forces monitoring a shaky truce in Darfur.

Jan Pronk, chief of the UN mission in Sudan, told reporters that the AMIS officials and the UN delegation discussed how to enhance the AU's role in Darfur.

He said that he was confident that the Sudanese government and the UN Security Council would reach an agreement on the transition of the peacekeeping mission from the AU to the UN.

Chinese ambassador to the UN, Wang Guangya, told Xinhua that it was important to take into consideration the view points of the Sudanese government on a possible transition of the peacekeeping mission in Darfur.

He stressed that the UN Security Council must not impose its will on Sudan if the Sudanese government did not agree to the deployment of UN forces in Darfur.

Wang said that the international society should reaffirm its support for the African Union peacekeeping mission especially in financial, logistic and technical fields.

The UN Security Council delegation arrived in Khartoum on Monday, and held talks with President al-Bashir and senior officials in Khartoum and visited southern Sudan on Thursday.

The delegation also traveled to the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa on Wednesday for consultations with AU officials on the situation in Darfur.

Both UN and AU have agreed on the deployment of international peacekeepers in Darfur to replace the 7,800-strong AU forces.

The Sudanese government has so far opposed the transition, insisting that the UN should concentrate its role in Darfur on the humanitarian assistance.

A joint UN-AU assessment team arrived in Khartoum Friday to evaluate the requirements for UN takeover of the Darfur peacekeeping mission.

Source: Xinhua