Sudan welcomes AU’s decision on Darfur

Mar 11, 2006 (KHARTOUM) — Sudan on Friday welcomed the African Union Peace and Security Council (AU-PSC)’s decision to extend the AU peacekeeping mission in Sudan’s western region of Darfur for six months until Sept. 30 this year.

The council also agreed in principle to hand over its cash- strapped peacekeeping mission in Darfur to the United Nations, according to a joint communique issued at the end of the AU-PSC meeting in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa on Friday.

Abu Zaid al-Hassan, Sudan’s Ambassador to Ethiopia and Permanent Representative in the AU, described the decision as ” balanced”, adding “it met most demands of Sudan.”

The decision underlined the UN would not send any peacekeeping forces to Darfur without an agreement of the Sudanese government, he said in a telephone interview with Xinhua from Addis Ababa.

He added that the AU-PSC decision talked on a transition of the AU peacekeeping mission towards a UN mission in terms of principle rather than a final decision.

The United States has been pressing the African Union for an agreement on the UN takeover of the peacekeeping mission in Darfur to contain the escalating bloodshed.

But Sudan strongly opposed the proposal to replace the 7,800- strong African peacekeeping troops, which were deployed in 2004 to monitor a ceasefire deal between the Sudanese government and two main Darfur rebel groups, with an international force.

(Xinhua)