Sudan, Egypt, Libya to hold new Darfur talks

Mar 7, 2006 (CAIRO) — Sudanese President Omar al-Beshir is to hold a new mini-summit on the Darfur crisis with his Egyptian and Libyan counterparts ahead of an Arab summit in Khartoum later this month, presidential advisor Mustafa Osman Ismail said Tuesday.

Libyan leader Moamer Kadhafi (C) receives Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak (L) and Sudan’s President Omar al-Beshir (R) as Libya hosts a two-day summit of African leaders on finding peace in Darfur, on May 16, 2005.

“The summit shall be convened before the Arab summit and it may be held either in Cairo or Tripoli,” Ismail told reporters after Cairo talks with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak.

Ahead of the meeting, he had said he expected the mini-summit to be convened within 48 hours. But afterwards he did not elaborate on how soon before the March 28-29 summit it would go ahead.

The three leaders already met in Misrata, Libya on Febraury 28 and voiced strong opposition to Western plans to replace an African Union force in Darfur with UN peacekeepers.

Ismail Tuesday reiterated Khartoum’s strong opposition to the plans. “Sudan’s position on this issue is clear, and that is that the AU forces should remain in Darfur and carry on their duties,” he said.

(ST/AFP)