Darfur crisis must end now, says Mbeki

April 06, 2009 report by Sapa-AFP via IOL:
Darfur crisis must end now, says Mbeki

The conflict in Darfur had dragged on for too long, former South African president Thabo Mbeki said at the weekend after talks with Sudanese leader Omar al-Bashir.

Mbeki is in Khartoum leading a high-level African Union panel that is looking into the conflict for the African Union peace and security council.

"It has been very costly in all sorts of ways," he said. "Something must be done to end it as soon as possible."

The UN estimates that more than 300 000 people have died in Darfur since 2003.