New York, Sept. 23, GNA - Ghana has called for immediate cessation of hostilities between rebel forces and Government of Sudan in the lead up to political negotiations to settle the Darfur crisis. Mr Akwasi Osei-Adjei, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Regional Integration and NEPAD who made the call, said this was necessary not only to facilitate peace talks but also allow for the speedy deployment of AU-UN Hybrid Force.

"As we have seen time and again further outbreak of violence will only aggravate the already dire humanitarian situation and make it exceedingly difficult for those in need of relief to be assisted," he said, at a high-level meeting on the crisis held at the UN Headquarters in New York.

UN Secretary General Mr Ban Ki-Moon, and President of AU Commission, President Alpha Konare, jointly chaired the meeting. Representatives from 26 States including Sudan, permanent members of UN Security Council, AU Peace and Security Council, top-ranking officials from European Union and the League of Arab States attended. Mr Osei-Adjei described as "refreshing" the emergence of consensus among the fragmented rebel groups on issues to be negotiated with the Government of National Unity in the forthcoming talks scheduled for Tripoli, Libya.

The Foreign Minister urged those factions that intend boycotting the talks to have a rethink of their position so that they could also advance their interests during the Tripoli meeting. He spoke of the need for a deployment of a multi-dimensional international presence along the common borders of Sudan, Chad and Central African Republic to help improve the overall security in the region.

The AU and UN in a communiqu=E9 issued at the end of the meeting appealed for support in their efforts to ensure the deployment of a force that would be able to effectively fulfil its mandate and have an immediate positive impact in Darfur.

It asked member states to make pledges to the AU-UN operation to help meet the Force generation and deployment benchmarks set by UN Security Council.

The communiqu=E9 also highlighted the critical importance of Sudan Government's co-operation on operational issues of the Force, regarding airport landing rights for heavy aircraft, clearance for night flights, an agreement to drill for water and full freedom of movement for the operation.

About 200,000 people had been killed and more than two million others displaced in the Sudan Darfur conflict, which has been labelled as a humanitarian disaster.