TRIPOLI, Oct. 17 (Xinhuanet) -- Leaders from Sudan and four other African countries issued a joint statement here late Sunday, rejecting any foreign intervention in the Darfur issue and stressing that the issue must be resolved within the framework of the African Union (AU).

    At a two-hour summit which ended here overnight, the AU president and leaders of Sudan, Libya, Chad and Egypt discussed ways to prevent the Darfur situation from further worsening and humanitarian and political solutions to the Darfur issue within the AU framework.

    Before the summit, an Egyptian senior diplomat told Xinhua thatthe summit would try to find within the AU framework an appropriate way acceptable to the conflicting sides in Sudan.

    "How to strengthen the AU framework is one of the major topics of the summit," he said on condition of anonymity.

    In the joint statement, AU President Olusegun Obasanjo, Libyan leader Muammar Kadhafi, Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, Chadian President Idriss Deby and Sudanese President Omar al-Beshir stressed the AU' s leading role in resolving the crisis. They said the summit served as a mechanism for the international community to find a solution to the Darfur crisis.

    The five appealed to the international community to provide necessary support and assistance to the AU and Sudan for helping resolve the humanitarian crisis in Sudan.

    Lauding the Sudanese government for its efforts to improve the humanitarian situation in Darfur, the statement also praised Sudan for honoring its promises to address the Darfur issue.

    The statement welcomed the Sudanese government's decision to expand the AU monitoring mission in Darfur and to increase the number of the protection forces on the ground.

    The summit authorized Libyan leader Kadhafi to keep contact with all the parties until a solution is found to the Darfur issue.

    Meanwhile, the Sudanese government agreed to do its best to endthe conflict in Darfur that has displaced about 1.5 million people,a senior Egyptian official said.

    Maged Abdel Fattah, Egypt's presidential spokesman, told reporters during the summit that the Sudanese government is doing its best in fulfilling its obligations.

    Clashes flared up in February 2003 between the militia known asJanjaweed and local black Africans over scarce resources in the barren western Sudanese region of Darfur.

    Two rebel groups, the Sudan Liberation Army and the Justice and Equality Movement took up arms to fight the Janjaweed, which was believed to be responsible for killings and looting

    They also accused the government of years of negligence and unfair allocation of resources.

    Peace talks between the Sudanese government and the rebel groups have adjourned in the Nigerian capital of Abuja without major breakthrough and would be resumed after the holy Muslim month of Ramadan.

    The summit was called under the AU auspices in a bid to solve the Darfur crisis, which has grabbed unprecedented world attention.

    The UN Security Council adopted a resolution on Sept. 18, urging the Sudanese government to stabilize the situation in Darfur and fully cooperate with the AU.

    The AU has spearheaded international attempts to resolve the crisis and is in the process of deploying a 4,500-strong force from around five African countries to Sudan to oversee the peace process there. Enditem