US envoy in Sudan to discuss progress on Darfur resolution

September 26, 2007 KHARTOUM) — U.S. President George W. Bush’s envoy to Sudan arrived in Khartoum on Wednesday for a 10 day visit, saying he wanted to review the progress made at resolving the 4½-year-old conflict in Darfur.

We «want to review the good progress that has been made in the peace process in Darfur,» Natsios said in a brief statement at the Khartoum airport. He said he will discuss the hybrid African Union-United Nations peacekeeping force that is to deploy in Darfur later this year and a peace conference next month in Libya between the Sudanese government and Darfur rebel factions.

Upon his arrival to Khartoum airport Wednesday evening the US diplomat said he would also discuss with the Sudanese officials the implementation of the the implementation of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement signed in January 2005 with the former Sudan People’s Liberation Movement.

Abdul Basit Badawi, a Sudanese Foreign Ministry official who met Natsios at the airport expressed his hope that peace would come to the war-torn western Sudanese region.

We hope «efforts will be brought together so that this ship will be led to safety and peace and stability would be realized,» Badawi said.
Natsios’ visit comes as the U.N. General Assembly is meeting in New York. On Tuesday, Bush urged swift U.N. action to end the violence in Darfur.

Earlier this months, Natsios reported significant progress in the Darfur peace talks. He credited China with playing an important role and said Libya also has begun to cooperate.

In Darfur, a 26,000-strong joint AU-U.N. peacekeeping force is meant to replace a beleaguered 6,000-member AU force that has been unable to stop the bloodshed. Some 200,000 people have died in more than four years of fighting in the vast region in western Sudan.

Sudan has insisted that African countries have offered enough troops for a peacekeeping force in Darfur despite U.N. concerns that the mission will not be effective without specialized contributions from outside the continent.

(AP/ST)