Sudan disarms Janjaweed militia - Annan and Bashir at AU summit July 1-2

More than 750 militiamen handed over their arms in a ceremony attended by representatives of the UN, AU and the American and British embassies, IslamOnline reported June 24, 2006.

The government vowed to help improve the living conditions of those who have handed over their arms, said Al-Jazeera correspondent.

This is the first disarming bid since the signing of a peace agreement, brokered by the Africa Union, in the Nigerian capital on May 5.

Note, in a related development, UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan said he would try again to persuade Sudanese President Omar el-Bashir to accept a UN peacekeeping force in Darfur when they meet at an African Union summit in Gambia next week:

Annan said he had spoken to Bashir by telephone and received the same negative response given to Jean-Marie Guehenno, the head of UN peacekeeping, on the need for a force in Darfur.

"I got the same message, but we have agreed to continue the dialogue, and also to meet in Banjul," he said, referring to the capital of Gambia where the AU is holding a July 1-2 summit.

The AU's chief executive, Alpha Oumar Konare, said Thursday after meeting Bashir that Sudan "is not rejecting the role of the U.N., but they want to clarify what will be the nature of this force."