UNAMID chief heads to Doha to support peace talks on Darfur

Chief of the United Nations- African Union Mission in Darfur (UNAMID) Ibrahim Gambari is heading to Doha, the Qatari capital, to support the latest round of peace talks between the government of Sudan and Darfur rebel groups, UN spokesman Martin Nesirky said here Monday.

"He is expected to meet with Joint Chief Mediator Djibril Bassole, members of the Qatari Foreign Ministry, senior Sudanese government officials and rebel officials," Nesirky told a daily press briefing here at the UN Headquarters in New York.

The planned discussions will also include Sudanese-Chadian relations, as well as regional security, Nesirky said.

Doha has become the host city of peace talks between the Sudanese government and rebel movements of Darfur, with the latest peace talks beginning there on Jan. 24.

Four days after the re-launch of the Doha talks, Gambari urged the Sudanese government and Darfur rebel groups to make concessions to help achieve peace in Darfur.

Both sides have continued to send key players to Doha on the Darfur peace process after several postponements since their last meeting in May 2009. But neither Khartoum nor the rebel groups seemed ready for face-to-face talks as expected, turning to separate consultations with the mediators instead.

UNAMID took over the peacekeeping mission in Darfur from the African Union Mission in Sudan (AMIS) on Dec. 31, 2007. This year the mission is expected to finish the deployment, which currently amounts to 26,000 military, police and civilian components.

Source: Xinhua