Arab ministers oppose any recourse to sanctions on Sudan

KHARTOUM, Sudan, Sep 18, 2004 (PANA) — Foreign Minister Mustafa Osman Ismail
said Saturday that his Arab colleagues had unanimously expressed
opposition to any sanctions on Sudan, after he explained
developments in the crisis in Darfur, at a meeting early this
week in Cairo.

The UN Security Council was scheduled to vote Saturday on a US
resolution aimed at pressuring Sudan to end the conflict in
Darfur, where up to 50,000 people are believed to have died in
the last 18 months.

Ismail told a press conference here that the Arab ministerial
council hailed measures taken by Khartoum to contain the crisis
Darfur.

He said the council would rather Khartoum was given enough time
to deliver on its commitments with the UN, as opposed to the
clamour in some quarters for coercive military intervention.

Ismail also maintained that the humanitarian situation in Darfur
had improved considerably, adding that the government was
addressing the issue on three levels.

These include providing adequate food supplies, improving
conditions for the displaced, and rehabilitating and developing
the region, besides continuing search for a political solution to
the conflict.

The US-drafted resolution at the UN Security Council threatens
sanctions should the government in Khartoum fail to rein in
marauding militias in Darfur.