NAIROBI, Apr 27, 2006 – Conflicts in Sudan and Somalia are raging on because donors and regional mediators have failed to implement peace agreements for the two war-ravaged countries, peace activists said on Wednesday.

Researchers, civil society members and educationists from the Horn of Africa urged donors and the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) to continue with efforts to end conflicts in Sudan and Somalia.

"We are ... perturbed with the manner in which the implementations of these peace agreements are seriously slowed." said a statement issued by the activists in Kenyan capital Nairobi after a three-day seminar.

IGAD mediated talks in Kenya between southern Sudan rebels and the government of Sudan which culminated with the signing of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement in January 2005.

The regional mediation body was also instrumental in bringing together warring Somali factions for talks that gave birth to the Somali Transitional Federal Government in October 2004 in Nairobi.

Donors funded both the Somali and Sudan Peace Processes.

However IGAD and the donors have since neglected Sudan and Somalia raising fears of more conflicts in the two Africa nations, the peace activists said.

"There was a slackening, after the agreements were signed then people relaxed." Robert Mudida, a lecturer at the University of Nairobi school of Diplomacy and International Studies said. "That peace need to be nurtured its not just going to take care of itself."

The activists said lack of United Nations monitoring in Sudan was also to blame. The activists said resources that fuel conflicts in the conflict-prone Horn of Africa could instead be used to search for peace.

"We use millions and billions of dollars to purchase armaments," said Yacob Tesfai, a senior researcher at Life and Peace Institute which organized the seminar. "The challenge is to use these resources used in conflict for peace."

Source: Reuters

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