Sudanese opposition NDA welcomes Eygpt summit on Darfur

CAIRO, Egypt, May 8, 2005 (Sudan Tribune) — The Sudanese opposition National Democratic Alliance (NDA) welcomed the holding of a summit in Sharm El-Sheikh to work out a solution to the Darfur conflict.

A displaced Sudanese man looks at his destroyed house after militiamen burnt the Sereaf village, in west Darfur along the Sudan and Chad border, April 22, 2005. (Reuters).

This regional summit on the crisis in Sudan’s troubled Darfur region comes as part of an effort to help Khartoum comply with UN Security Council resolution 1593 on Darfur and the trial of those responsible for committing crimes in the region at the International Criminal Court.

The two-day summit, expected to bring together the leaders of Egypt, Chad, Libya, Nigeria and Sudan will open on May 15 at the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh

The alliance highlighted the importance of holding such a summit for reaching a comprehensive political solution to Sudan’s problems. Without solving the Darfur conflict, there will be no peace nor stability in Sudan, Tom Hagu, the NDA member, told MENA on Friday.

The NDA is supporting all peaceful efforts to solve the Sudan problems, especially those exerted by Egypt and President Hosni Mubarak who spares no efforts to reach a peaceful solution to the Sudan problems, he said.

Darfur rebel groups had already rejected the idea of the summit, charging that its only purpose was to offer support to the Sudanese government.

The date of the summit is noy yet fixed. Egypt had initially planned to convene the Darfur summit on April 20, but it was postponed for logistical reasons, according to the Egyptian government.

A similar five-way meeting over Darfur — also without the presence of rebel movements — was held in Libya last October but failed to yield any significant results.