African leaders on Saturday reiterated their rejection of internationalizing the Darfur issue and voiced support for Sudan's refusal to unauthorized deployment of UN peacekeepers in the war-devastated region.

In a statement issued at the end of an African Union (AU) gathering in the Libyan port city of Sirte, the leaders stressed that Africans were capable of solving their own problems, according to reports reaching here from Libya's capital Tripoli.

The participants to the meeting, aimed at marking the seventh anniversary of the organization's creation, urged the Sudanese government and the People's Liberation Army of Sudan, a main rebel group in Darfur, to implement the peace deal signed in Nairobi, Kenya, in January 2005, saying the AU would make continuous efforts to achieve a peaceful, lasting solution to the issue.

The statement also said African leaders had decided to solve the ongoing conflicts and to jointly cope with challenges facing the socio-economic development of Africa, so as to realize a comprehensive, lasting peace on the continent.

The Darfur conflict erupted in February 2003 when rebels took up arms against the Sudanese government, accusing it of marginalizing the region.

Tens of thousands of people have been killed and up to 2.5 million others displaced in the conflict.

Source: Xinhua