Photo: An African Union Mission in the Sudan (AMIS) peacekeeper from South Africa mans the gun on a Mamba fighting vehicle before sunrise at the Mission's base in the north Darfurian town of Kutum. The situation in Sudan's strife-torn Darfur region is stabilizing with UN-African Union peacekeepers able to provide improved security but still in need of crucial air mobility, their outgoing commander said.

The joint African Union-United Nations peacekeeping operation in Darfur (UNAMID) convened a round-table discussion with the signatories to the 2006 pact that aims to bring peace to the Sudanese region.

In yesterday's talks, Rodolphe Adada, the Joint AU-UN Special Representative and head of the mission, urged all parties to support the ongoing peace process "because that is the only way to go in order to give a new lease of life to the [Darfur Peace Agreement] and, by extension, to the people of Darfur."

Some 300,000 people have been killed and an estimated 2.7 million others displaced from their homes in Darfur since fighting erupted in 2003, pitting Government forces and allied Janjaweed militiamen against rebel groups.

Mr. Adada yesterday hailed the signatories and participants of the Darfur Peace Agreement for their commitment to dialogue, peace, reconciliation and development since the pact was signed in 2006 between the Government of Sudan and rebel groups in Abuja, Nigeria.

"Those who embraced peace deserve to reap its dividends," he said.

The pact, he said, paved the way for the deployment of UNAMID, which has achieved success in protecting civilians and supporting aid agencies as they deliver humanitarian assistance, among others.

Participants, including representatives from the Government and groups such as the SLM Free Will and Popular Forces for Rights and Democracy, agreed that while progress has been made, more remains to be done in implementing the pact. They also called on the international community to play a more active role. UN News Service.