Arab League supports Sudan’s plan for Darfur
Sept 6, 2006 (CAIRO) — The Cairo-based Arab League Wednesday passed a resolution supporting Sudan’s plan to deploy the government troops in its western region of Darfur, said AL Secretary General Amr Musa.
Musa made his remarks at a joint press conference with Bahraini Foreign Minister Sheikh Khalid bin Ahmad al-Khalifa after an Arab foreign ministerial meeting held in the AL headquarters.
Musa told the reporters that the resolution called for the continuation of the African Union (AU) peacekeeping force in Darfur after Sept. 30 when its mandate expires.
He added that the resolution also urged to promote dialogue between Sudan, the UN, the AU and the AL to agree on the implementation of the Darfur peace accord.
The pan-Arab forum also urged the Arab and African countries to boost their participation in the AU mission in Darfur.
It further called on the international community to meet its obligations to save the Darfur peace accord and offer the necessary assistance to the AU mission in Darfur.
The UN Security Council passed a resolution on Aug. 31, in which it called for the deployment of up to 22,500 troops and police officers and an immediate injection of air, engineering and communication support for the 7,000-member African force in Darfur.
The Sudanese government, however, has repeatedly said that it opposed the deployment of a UN peacekeeping force in Darfur to replace the AU troops. It also planned to send 10,500 more government forces to Darfur.
Many people have reportedly been killed in the Darfur region since 2003, when ethnic tribes revolted against the government.
(Xinhua/ST)