The African Union (AU) on Friday urged conflicting parties in the war-torn western Sudanese region of Darfur not to take military operations threatening the safety of peacekeepers whom the pan-African body had sent to the region.

"The African Union comes for peace in Darfur. Any military operation against persons and convoys of the AU Mission in Sudan is unacceptable," said Saeed Djinnit, the AU commissioner for peace and security, at a press conference held in the AMIS headquarters in Khartoum.

He called on all the conflicting parties in Darfur to put down immediately their arms and commit themselves to a ceasefire accord reached two year ago.

Underlining the importance of coordination between the AU and the Sudanese government, the AU official announced that a joint committee had been set up between the two sides, which will hold a meeting every week to look into the process of implementing the Darfur Peace Agreement (DPA) signed between the Sudanese government and a main rebel faction in May.

He said that steps had been taken to reinforce the African peacekeeping forces in Darfur according to a decision adopted by the AU Peace and Security Council in its September meeting in New York, adding that two battalions from Rwanda and Nigeria will arrive soon in Darfur to join the peacekeeping forces.

However, Djinnit stressed that the AU still needed logistic and financial assistance to complete its reinforcement plan.

An AU delegation headed by Djinnit arrived in Khartoum on Wednesday and paid a visit in North Darfur on Thursday where he held meetings with Sudanese Senior Presidential Adviser Mini Arkou Minawi, a former rebel leader who joined the government after signing the DPA, and officials of local government and the AMIS in the region.

Source: Xinhua