IGAD summit to discuss Darfur, Eritrea-Ethiopia row and LRA
Mar 19, 2006 (NAIROBI) — The 11th Summit of IGAD Heads of State and Government which is scheduled to be held in Nairobi on 20th March will discuss a number of important issues: drought, Sudan’s Darfur crisis, Eritrea Ethiopia border dispute, Ugandan LRA rebels, and Somalia.
The summit comes at a time when the Horn of Africa region is faced with persistent drought that has claimed many lives and animals and the matter is expected to dominate tomorrow’s debate.
Also likely to be discussed is the Darfur war and calls for the deployment of UN forces to replace African Union soldiers currently on ground, which has since been rejected by the Sudan government.
Nshimye said on Friday there was a need for IGAD to work closely with the AU to find a solution to the Darfur crisis that has left thousands of people dead and hundreds of thousands displaced, the Nairobi based Daily Nation reported.
The continued hostilities between Eritrea and Ethiopia and the war in northern Uganda pitting the government and the Lord’s Resistance Army is also expected to feature.
Speaking during the ministers’ meeting which ended yesterday at the Grand Regency Hotel, the Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan to Somalia, Francois Fall, said the peace realized in the country was still fragile “and needs to be protected and nurtured.”
The envoy said the UN supports the deployment of an African force to Somalia.
And, on a request for an arms waiver for the proposed force, he said the UN Security Council expects the AU and IGAD to prepare a detailed mission plan in close coordination with the Somali government institutions before the request could be accepted.
The IGAD Partners Forum also called for a speedy political solution in the negotiations between Darfur rebels and Sudan government going on in Abuja.
“In conformity with the recent decision of the African Union, it would then be possible to start planning and implementing accordingly the transition from the African Union to the UN peace-keeping mission,” it said.
(DailyNation/ST)