French FM to press Sudan on Darfur

Nov 9, 2006 (PARIS) — France’s foreign minister, who has repeatedly called on Khartoum to let U.N. peacekeepers into Darfur, will visit Sudan next week to speed up the search for a solution to the humanitarian crisis there, his ministry said.

French Foreign Minister Philippe Douste-Blazy will visit the Sudanese capital on Sunday, where he expects to meet President Omar Hassan al-Bashir before travelling to Darfur on Monday, the French Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Thursday.

“This visit takes place in the context of the move led by France with its partners from the international community to accelerate the settlement of the Darfur crisis,” the Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

Frustrated by Sudan’s strong opposition to U.N. peacekeepers in Darfur, the United Nations is considering a hybrid African Union-U.N. force as a way to get around Khartoum’s objections.

Such a contingent could bolster the under-financed and ill-equipped African Union force now in Darfur, which Sudan has accepted, with non-African troops, communications gear and logistical support channeled through the United Nations, U.N. officials said on Wednesday, speaking on condition of anonymity.

Violence is on the increase in Darfur, where some 200,000 people have been killed and more than 2.5 million driven from their homes in a conflict that has raged since 2003.

The fighting pits mostly non-Arab rebels against troops from the Arab-dominated Khartoum government and Arab militia known as Janjaweed blamed for widespread rape and plunder.

The U.N. Security Council in August approved deployment of as many as 22,000 peacekeepers to Darfur.

But Bashir has resisted intense international pressure to let in U.N. troops, arguing that would be like inviting Western powers to recolonize his country.

Douste-Blazy was due to visit Cairo on Saturday before heading to Sudan, the Foreign Ministry said.

“The meetings the minister will have during this visit to Egypt and Sudan will be an opportunity to exchange deep views on the situation in Darfur and in neighbouring countries, and on the ways to deploy a robust international force,” it said.

Sudan’s neighbours Central African Republic and Chad, both of which have seen an increase in rebel attacks in recent weeks, say they are victims of violence spilling over from Darfur.

(Reuters)