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UN chief welcomes accord signed by Sudan, Darfur rebel group

16 July 2011 01:40 (UTC +04:00)

Baku-APA. UN Secretary-General Ban Ki- moon has welcomed a peace accord signed by the Sudanese government and a Darfur rebel group, according to a statement released here Friday by Ban’s spokesperson, APA reports referring Xinhua.

"The secretary-general welcomes the signing of the Doha Document for Peace in Darfur by the government of Sudan and the Liberation and Justice Movement (LJM)," the statement said. "He also wishes to acknowledge the support of the government of Qatar to the negotiations which led to this agreement."

Since 2009, Qatar has been working to try and mediate between Darfur rebel groups and the Sudanese government in order to broker a lasting peace.

Despite the progress made with the signing of the Doha document, which took place Thursday, other rebel groups still have not signed on to a peace deal.

"The secretary-general appeals to the Justice and Equality Movement, the Sudan Liberation Army/Abdul Wahid and the Sudan Liberation Army/Minni Minawi to join the peace process," the statement said.

Fighting in Darfur between rebels and Sudan’s government has been going on since 2003. According to UN estimates, the conflict has left 300,000 dead and 2.7 million displaced.