Tribal conflicts biggest threat to Darfur peace deal

An international commission tasked with following up on the Darfur peace agreement said Monday that tribal conflicts are the biggest threat to the deal signed in July 2011.

The Doha Document for Peace in Darfur Implementation Follow-up Commission, chaired by Qatar State, held its Monday regular meeting in Khartoum to follow up on progress regarding implementation of the deal.

"There are great challenges standing on the way of achieving lasting peace in Darfur, top of them tribal conflicts and the spread of light and heavy arms in the hand of the citizens," said Ahmad bin Abdullah Al Mahmoud, the Qatari deputy prime minister and commission head.

"These challenges are outside the range of the Doha Document for Peace in Darfur (DDPD), and the efforts made by the Darfur regional authority and the security bodies to control the arms in Darfur should be commended," he noted.

He further reiterated the importance of implementing the unimplemented document items, particularly the ones relating to compensations.

The Qatari official stressed the necessity to complete the peace process in Darfur, saying "completion of the implementation of the Doha document does not mean realization of lasting peace in Darfur, because there are movements outside the document."

He disclosed the ongoing coordination with the Joint AU-UN Darfur Special Representative and UNAMID Head and Joint Chief Mediator, Martin Ihoeghian Uhomoibhi, in order to bring the unwilling armed movements onboard.

The commission membership includes Sudan's government, the Liberation and Justice Party, the National Liberation and Justice Party, the Justice and Equality Movement, representatives from Burkina Faso, Canada, Chad, China, Egypt, France, Japan, Russia, the United Kingdom, North Ireland, the United States, the African Union, the European Union, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation and UNAMID.

Source: XINHUA