KHARTOUM, May 26 (Xinhua) -- Sudanese President Omer al-Bashir stressed on Saturday that the crisis in the western Sudanese region of Darfur was "heading for solution".

    Al-Bashir made the announcement while addressing the opening session of the 50th meeting of the Executive Committee of the African Parliamentary Union (APU).

    "The Darfur issue is heading towards solution according to the plan of the UN secretary general amended by the summit of the Peace and Security Council of the African Union," al-Bashir told the APU session.

    He, meanwhile, admitted that the proposed UN-AU joint peacekeeping operation under a three-phase plan was the key for the solution for the Darfur issue.

    The three-phase plan stipulates the deployment of a 20,000-strong hybrid UN-AU peacekeeping force, whose command has not been defined yet.

    The Sudanese government says that the hybrid force must be commanded by the AU while the United States and its Western allies demanded a UN-dominated peacekeeping mission, which is opposed by Khartoum fearing hidden intentions of the Western countries.

    "The Darfur issue has continued to remain in the hands of the African Union despite feverish attempts to take away the file from the African Union," said President al-Bashir.

    He stressed Sudan's firm support to the role played by the African Union in keeping security and peace in the continent and resolving conflicts paving the way for the African renaissance and affirming the right of Africans to manage their own affairs.

    Meanwhile, President al-Bashir urged all rebel factions in Darfur to join the peace process, reiterating that "dialogue is the sole means for solving the problem".

    Only one of the three main rebel groups in Darfur has signed the Abuja peace agreement with the Sudanese government while the other two groups claimed the agreement was unfair.

    It is widely believed that the Darfur peace negotiations can not resume before the disintegrating rebel movements work out a united position.