Sudanese parliament ratifies Darfur peace accord

Khartoum- Sudan (PANA) – The Sudanese National Ass-embly has ratified the Darfur Peace Agreement (DPA) between the Khartoum government and the main rebel movement in Darfur to end some three years of fighting the country's western region.
Khartoum and the rebel Sudan Liberation Movement (SLM) of Minani Arkua Minnawi signed the agreement 5 May 2006 in Abuja, the Nigerian capital, under the auspices of the African Union (AU).
Two other groups, a SLM faction led by Abdulwahid al-Nur, and the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) did not sign the agreement until the AU-set deadline of 31 May passed.
At a session headed by the Speaker Ahmed Ibrahim Tahir, the parliament in a majority vote on Saturday endorsed the AU-brokered peace deal.
The parliament reaffirmed support and backing for the agreement calling on the international community and the world organizations to fulfil their pledges of providing material assistance for the reconstruction of the war-ravaged region.
Fighting in Darfur started in early 2003 over what the rebel movements described as "marginalisation" of the people of the region.
About 200,000 people have died and over one million others internally and externally displaced as a result of fighting.
Meanwhile, the AU Peace and Security Council has decided to impose targeted sanctions, including travel ban and assets freeze, on all persons or groups undermining the DPA.
The decision came at the end of a meeting by the Council in Banjul, the Gambia, venue of the 1-2 July sevenhth AU Summit.
The council requested the chairperson of the AU Commission to establish a list of such persons or groups, and make them available to member states and other relevant members of the international community, including the UN Security Council.