African Union extends Darfur deadline
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ABUJA (AP) — The African Union extended the May 2 deadline for a peace pact aimed at ending violence in Sudan's Darfur region, which has claimed at least 180,000 lives.
The extension came as the United States, Britain and Libya sent envoys to press the Sudanese government and rebels to end fighting that has also driven 2 million from their homes.
Decades of small-scale tribal clashes over land and water in Darfur erupted into large-scale violence in early 2003
The central government is accused of responding by using Arab tribal militias known as Janjaweed against civilians. Sudan denies backing the Janjaweed.
Darfur has been a staging ground for Chadian rebels, who have risen up against the government, and Sudan accuses Chad of supporting Darfur rebels.
The violence threatens to escalate: Osama bin Laden recently urged his followers to go to Sudan to fight a proposed U.N. presence.
Even as the peace negotiations continued in the Nigerian capital, U.N. officials reported an increase in fighting in Darfur.
AU、和平協議の期限を延長
アフリカ連合(AU)はスーダンのダルフール紛争の和平協定について、5月2日となっていた交渉期限を延期した。
Shukan ST: May 12, 2006
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