MPs oppose UN’s military role in Sudan’s Darfur

Dec 6, 2005 (KHARTOUM) — Members of parliament from Darfur have opposed any possible military role to be played by the UN in Darfur.

However, the MPs – who are members of the ruling National Congress – have urged the UN to play an effective mediation role between the rival groups in the country to make the ongoing 7th round of Abuja peace talks successful.

Speaking to the pro ruling party news service SMC, the MP for constituency No 63 in Western Darfur, Ibrahim Yahya, has said that the situation in Darfur requires support for the African Union (AU) efforts aimed at restoring peace in the region.

The MP further said that the rebel National Movement for Reform and Development(NMDR) was responsible for the recent incident in Sarba administrative unit, in which a policeman was killed and 12 others were wounded, a situation which, he said, had complicated the security situation in the region.

He further added that the regional government has put in place plans to open new police posts in areas such us Sarba, Damtar and Thawani in a bid to counter any attempt by the rebels to sabotage security and stability in the region, adding that government authorities have reported the recent incident to the AU observers in the region.

“We were being attacked by government helicopters and then the AU came along in their vehicles,” said Khalil Abdallah, political leader of the NMRD. “They started shooting at us first so we returned fire in self defence,” he added.

(ST)