Darfur not to be excluded from coming general elections: official

KHARTOUM, Oct. 3 -- A senior Sudanese official Saturday affirmed that Darfur will not be excluded from the coming general elections slated for April 2010.

Darfur, the western Sudanese region where witnesses a civil war since 2003, will not be excluded from the coming general elections," said Nafie Ali Nafie, assistant to the Sudanese president, at a press conference Saturday.

He said "Around 97 percent of the areas in Darfur are safe and the elections will be held there."

"All facts indicate that peace has been achieved in Darfur and there is no fighting or battles," he added.

He reiterated Khartoum's keenness to find a political settlement to the Darfur crisis, saying "we work to ensure that the coming round of negotiations with the Darfur armed movements would achieve a positive progress and help reach a comprehensive peace agreement."

The Sudanese official also called on neighboring countries and the international community to put pressure on the Darfur armed movements to let them sit at the negotiation table with Khartoum and accept the principle of dialogue as the sole solution to the conflict in the region.

Qatar is expected to host in late October a new round of peace talks between the Sudanese government and the rebels in the Darfur region, but some of the major Darfur armed factions till refuse to join the coming round.