A senior mediator from the African Union has told the UN Security Council that a peace agreement on the Darfur region of Sudan is within reach.
Salim Ahmed Salim of Tanzania was briefing the council last night on the latest peace talks in Abuja, Nigeria.
He reported that Khartoum was showing some flexibility on the key issues of power and wealth sharing as well as security arrangements, saying the conflict seemed to be 'ripe for resolution'.
Earlier, the US submitted a draft resolution urging targeted sanctions against four Sudanese officials blamed for the bloodshed in Darfur.
They were not named, but diplomats identified them as Maj.-Gen. Gaafar Mohammed El-Hassan of the Sudan Air Force who until this year commanded Darfur's western military region; Sheikh Musa Hilal, paramount chief of the Jalul tribe in north Darfur and a known leader of the 'Janjaweed' pro-government militia; Gabril Abdel Karim Badi, commander of the rebel National Movement for Reform and Development (NMRD); and Adam Yacub Shant, a commander of the rebel Sudan Liberation Army.
China and Russia had already blocked the imposition of a travel ban and assets freeze on the four men.
