While committing itself to efforts to promote peace in Africa, the Cairo-based Arab League (AL) has highlighted the importance of development of the Arab-African ties since the two brotherly regions have had historic, geographic and cultural links.
As some African countries out of the 22-member pan-Arab body are being locked in faction wars and violence, the AL has enhanced its financial donations and assistance to help achieve comprehensive peace in volatile regions in the brotherly continent, especially on the Sudan and Somalia fronts.
UNRELENTING EFFORTS ON SUDANESE ISSUE
On Dec. 6, the African Union (AU) peacekeeping mission in Sudan received 1 million U.S. dollars from the AL as a financial donation to settle payment arrears to the AU Cease-Fire Commission members.
The donation was granted in response to a request by Rodolphe Adada, AU-UN Joint Representative for Darfur and head of the AU mission in Sudan, to AL Secretary-General Amr Moussa during their meeting on Oct. 27 in Sirte, Libya on the occasion of the launching of inter-Sudanese peace talks on Darfur.
Speaking at a two-day Arab conference on Darfur in Khartoum after the Sirte meeting, Moussa noted that Arab countries had contributed a lot in improving humanitarian situation in Darfur by building hospitals, sending medical experts and providing a large amount of relief materials.
Arab countries will continue their efforts in this regard in order to improve conditions of housing, health, education, agriculture, energy and vocational training in the western Sudanese region, Moussa promised.
During his visit to Paris in early December, Moussa also urged for removing current obstacles to speed up deployment of the AU-UN hybrid force in Darfur as the concerned UN Security Council resolution had set Dec. 31 as the deadline.
African-Arab nations, such as Algeria, Egypt and Mauritania, already have small contingents operating in Darfur with the AU peacekeepers. Egypt has also proposed to contribute 3,000 more troops to the UN peacekeeping unit for the Hybrid Operation.
After autonomous southern region leader Salva Kiir's Sudanese People's Liberation Movement (SPLM) walked out of the unity government in October, the AL called on the two peace partners to resume dialogue to solve binding issues and implement the remaining items of their 2005 peace agreement.
HELPING HANDS IN SOMALIA
On the Somalia crisis, the AL supports the dispatch of troops from African states to the AU mission in the war-ravaged country to help end on-and-off battles in Mogadishu.
In June, the pan-Arab body announced that it had donated 1 million dollars to support AU forces in Somalia, while a number of African countries have pledged troops to the envisioned 8,000-strong AU forces.
Also during his recent visit in Paris, Moussa said the AL has helped negotiations between the Somali government and other factions.
Despite foreign interference in the Somali affairs, achieving peace was in the hands of the Somali people, the AL chief added.
Moussa is reportedly also looking into the possibility of making his first visit to Mogadishu, which will be the first such visit by an AL secretary general to Somalia.
"The Arab League was and is still acting hand to hand with the African Union and provides all the necessary support until the endof the crisis," the AL chief said.
He referred to the Darfur crisis, but observers said that the Sudanese regional crisis is surely not the only crisis that the ALis concerned.
Actually, the pan-Arab bloc has been playing a constructive role for an end to all the wars and fightings in Africa to realize a comprehensive peace in the continent, they praised.
Source:Xinhua
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