afrol News, 19 March - The donor community has been urged to speed up support for the deployment of peacekeepers in Sudan's conflict-ridden Darfur region.

African and United Nations peace envoys [Salim Ahmed Salim and Jan Eliasson] also called on Chad and Sudan to tackle the border conflict, which has threatened peace.

"If we can get a quicker deployment of the peacekeeping troops then we can convey the message that yes, the security is increasing," the UN Special Envoy to Darfur, Jan Eliasson told a new briefing in Geneva, adding.

"For peacekeeping to be successful there has to be a peace to keep," he said.

Since 31 December last year, a joint AU-UN mission numbering 9,000 was deployed in Darfur. The deployment falls short of the required 26,000 troops.

The Darfur crisis, which erupted in 2003, had claimed over 200,000 lives and displaced more than two million others. Several efforts to end the conflict proved futile.

After a meeting with negotiators from Chad, Eritrea, Egypt, Libya and international observers, the envoys said "some progress has been achieved" because two of the five Darfur rebel groups have agreed hold meeting with Khartoum officials. However, while two groups worried about security conditions, the other prefers to be given time.

"There are rather far-reaching demands that we have to deal with. If they don't unify their own movements then we hope at least they will unify positions," Eliasson said.

By staff writer

© afrol News

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