A multipartite meeting on the Darfur issue on Sunday reconfirmed support for a three-phase plan to deploy a hybrid AU-UN force in the western Sudanese region, according to news reports from Tripoli.

The meeting, called for by Libya, gathers Sudan's Foreign Minister Lam Akol, special Darfur envoys from the United Nations, the African Union, the United States, the European Union and Britain, and senior officials or ministers from France, China, Canada, Egypt, Norway, Russia, Chad and Eritrea.

The major players expressed "grave concern" over the situation in Darfur at the two-day meeting in the Libyan capital Tripoli, which started on Saturday night with an aim to push forward the political process in Darfur, said the reports.

According to the reports, the diplomats who participated in the meeting reiterated their support for the three-phase support plan agreed by the UN, the AU and the Sudanese government on the deployment of a hybrid AU-UN peacekeeping force in November last year, also known as the Annan plan as it was put forward by then UN Secretary General Kofi Annan.

The conferees also urged all conflicting parties in the Darfur region to immediately cease hostilities and act upon their commitment to uphold a ceasefire.

Sudan is under mounting international pressure to approve the deployment of UN peacekeepers in Darfur as the United States and Britain had threatened to propose new sanctions if Khartoum fails to accept a full joint UN-AU peacekeeping force.

Source: Xinhua