France’s Alliot-Marie in Chad to visit French Darfur aid troops
PARIS, Aug 6, 2004 (Radio France Internationale) — France is calling on all parties concerned to seek a political solution in the Darfur region [western Sudan]. This is the message from the French Foreign Ministry at a time when the French defence minister has just arrived in Abeche, in Chad. Michèle Alliot-Marie has come to pay a lightning visit to the French soldiers participating in the mission to assist the Sudanese refugees from the Darfur region.
The Sudanese authorities have 30 days to restore security to this area in line with the UN resolution adopted last week. So they have one month to escape sanctions.
[The French news agency, AFP, quotes from the statement by the French Foreign Ministry’s deputy spokeswoman, Cecile Pozzo di Borgo at a press briefing today: “France calls on all of the parties concerned to resume an unconditional dialogue under the aegis of the United Nations, aimed at achieving a political agreement, the only kind appropriate to achieving a solution to the Darfur crisis which tackles the roots of the problem.
AFP further cited Mrs Pozzo di Borgo’s remarks that this agreement “bears witness to the Khartoum authorities’ willingness to implement their commitments” and that “this good will must now be reflected in concrete action on the ground”.]
Translated from french by BBC Monitoring