AU leaders wrap up special summit on regional conflicts

Leaders of the African Union (AU) wrapped up a special summit in Libya on Monday which was aimed to tackle regional conflicts, especially situations in Somalia, Sudan's Darfur and the Great Lakes region.

The African leaders adopted the "Tripoli Declaration" and a plan of action to find urgent solutions to crises and conflicts in Africa, but they failed to submit any substantial proposals to resolve the conflicts during the summit, the third for the AU this year.

The African countries approved Libya's proposal to make resolving the conflicts of Africa one of the regular topics of the AU summits of heads of state and government, the final document was quoted as saying by local media.

The action plan urged African member states who have pledged to contribute to the AU peacekeeping mission in Somalia to honor their promises "rapidly."

On Monday, AU Commission Chairman Jean Ping told reporters before the opening of the one-day summit that three African countries, namely Sierre Leone, Malawi and Nigeria, had agreed to contribute forces to reinforce the peacekeeping mission in Somalia.

The transitional government of Somalia declared a state of emergency in the country in June, and appealed to its neighbors to send military forces to help it quell Islamist insurgency.

Uganda and Burundi are the only countries that have deployed 4,300 out of the proposed 8,000 peacekeepers in Somalia under the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM).

The African leaders also called for an international conference on the rising piracy off the Somali coast.

About 30 African leaders attended the special summit held on the eve of celebrations marking the 40th anniversary of the Libyan Revolution, which brought Libyan leader Muammar Ghaddafi to power after overthrowing Western-backed King Idriss on Sept. 1, 1969.

It is AU's second summit in two months. The 53-member organization normally holds two summits a year.

At its 13th summit held in Libya's Sirte city in July, the AU accepted its current chairman Ghaddafi's proposal to hold a special session on the consideration and resolution of conflicts in Africa.

The AU, established in 2002 to replace the Organization of African Unity that was founded in 1963, aims at preserving and promoting peace and stability in the African continent, carrying out the strategy of reform and poverty reduction and realizing the development and renewal of Africa.

Source: People's Daily.
Link: http://english.people.com.cn/90001/90777/90856/6744661.html.