Sudan accuses Annan of helping rebels

KHARTOUM, Sudan, Apr 30, 2005 (UPI) — Sudan is accusing U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan of helping rebels in the troubled Darfur region re-ignite fighting there.

Foreign Minister Mustafa Osman Ismail said Saturday that by pushing the Security Council to issue resolutions on the issue, Annan helped the Darfur rebels “destroy stability in the region.”

Ismail also said that two Security Council resolutions on Darfur came at “the wrong time and gave a signal to the rebels that the Security Council was their partner in destroying stability in the region.”

Ismail, speaking during an urgent session of the National Assembly, accused Annan of speeding up the resolutions.

The resolutions call for imposing sanctions on parties obstructing the restoration of security in western Sudan, as well as trying officials accused of war crimes in international courts.

Ismail insisted that Khartoum worked around the clock to end the fighting in southern Sudan, “while others in the world are absorbed in enflaming the fire of sedition in Darfur.”