UNITED NATIONS, Oct. 22 (Xinhua) -- The head of the African Union/United Nations (AU/UN) peacekeeping mission in Sudan's Darfur region on Monday recommended "stern action" by the UN Security Council against rebel leader Abdul Wahid al Nur.
All efforts to bring the leader of the Sudan Liberation Army (SLA) faction into the peace process have so far failed, said Jeremiah Mamabolo, AU/UN joint special representative and head of the AU/UN Hybrid Operation in Darfur (UNAMID).
He has urged the AU Peace and Security Council to consider stern action against Nur "because from all accounts, he prefers belligerence and armed struggle to cessation of hostilities and a political process," Mamabolo told the UN Security Council.
"It is highly unlikely that he would change this position any time soon. The (UN) Security Council may wish to consider stern measures against the SLA leader," said Mamabolo via a video link from Johannesburg.
Al Nur's SLA faction has rejected the 2006 Darfur Peace Agreement.
Mamabolo said he has continued to engage with the Sudanese government and the rebel movements to bridge their differences so that they could agree on and sign a pre-negotiation framework which would facilitate the signing of a cessation of hostilities agreement and resumption of political negotiations.
