Sudan's vice president today cautiously welcomed proposals from a panel of African leaders to end conflict in Darfur but said the question of a special court to try those charged with atrocities needed further discussion. The 15 member African Union Peace and Security Council met in Nigeria to consider the report by a team of African "wise men" led by former South African President Thabo Mbeki.

The report recommends the establishment of a special court, including foreign judges, to try those charged with atrocities in Darfur, where the United Nations says hundreds of thousands of people have been killed by fighting.

"We go along with the deep vision contained in the report about elections being held all over Sudan, especially Darfur," Sudanese Vice President Ali Osman Mohamed Taha told the meeting in the Nigerian capital, Abuja.

"Recommendations that need further dialogue include the establishment of a new justice mechanism. That needs closer scrutiny if it is in line with the constitution," he said. He said such hybrid tribunals would "set a precedent" for other problems in Africa and said there needed to be further dialogue on whether there were better alternatives for Darfur.

The meeting was attended by Nigerian President Umaru Yar'Adua, his Kenyan counterpart Mwai Kibaki, South Africa's Mbeki and other delegates from around Africa. "It is my hope that our work will advance enduring peace, accountability and reconciliation in Sudan," Yar'Adua said.

Two-decade civil war
Kenya said it also wanted to discuss the peace process in South Sudan, which ended a two-decade civil war with the north in 2005, but where relations remain tense before national elections next year and a referendum on southern independence in 2011. "A successful conclusion to the Comprehensive Peace Agreement in South Sudan would help bolster chances of a new peace deal and development pact for the Darfur region," the Kenyan presidency said in a statement.

Mostly non-Arab rebels revolted in 2003 accusing Khartoum of neglecting Darfur. A counter-insurgency campaign drove more than 2 million from their homes. The United Nations says 300 000 people died, but Khartoum rejects that figure. Fierce fighting in the early days of the conflict has declined, replaced in many areas by a free-for-all involving bandits, rebel splinter groups and rival tribes. "All the turbulence could spill over not only to its immediate neighbours but to the entire continent," said Jean Ping, chairman of the AU Commission.

The Justice and Equality Movement, the most powerful rebel group in Darfur, on Tuesday rejected the report by Mbeki's panel and said serious crimes committed in the region should be tried by the International Criminal Court in The Hague.

The ICC issued an arrest warrant in March for Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir, saying he was wanted for war crimes in Darfur. The AU report did not go into the question of Bashir's arrest warrant, saying only that the ICC investigations should be discussed during peace talks on Darfur.

"Justice is a stable, unshakeable principle which government cherishes and is promoting. President Bashir reiterates his strong commitment that nobody should escape from justice," Taha said. - Reuters