UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon seeks to forge a final settlement to the conflict in Sudan's Darfur region with the support of Libya, according to a statment in New York Sunday, according to dpa. The UN Secretary General had met Saturday with Colonel Moamer Gaddafi at his compound near Sirte in Libya. After the half-hour talks, Ban said Gaddafi had pledged to use his influence to bring Darfur rebel groups to Libya for UN-sponsored talks with Khartoum's government on October 27. Speaking after the meeting and in a statement issued on behalf of the UN and Libya, Ban said: "We seriously intend negotiating a final peace settlement during this round of talks." At the close of a week-long trip to Darfur during which he held talks in Khartoum, Chad and Libya, Ban called on all parties to the conflict and neighbouring countries to commit themselves to a political solution to the conflict. "There must be an end to violence and insecurity, a strengthened ceasefire supported by the incoming hybrid operation, as well as an improvement in the humanitarian situation and greater prospects for development and recovery for the people of Darfur," Ban said, according to a text of his remarks made available at UN headquarters in New York. Apart from Libya, the governments in Sudan and Chad have agreed to work towards a solution soon. Khartoum has committed itself to ending all animosities in the crisis-ridden region and to provide land and facilities for the deployment of the 25,000-strong hybrid force. Ban and Sudanese Foreign Minister Lam Akol had signed an agreement to that effect in the presence of President Omar al-Bashir in Khartoum earlier this week. Meanwhile during talks with Ban in the Chadian capital D'Njamena, Chad's President Idriss Deby offered to invite rebel groups in Darfur to the country before October 27 so that they could meet on neutral ground to reach a joint stance in preparation for peace talks in Libya.
