Six African nations begin summit on Sudan’s Darfur

TRIPOLI, Libya, May 16, 2005 (AP) — The presidents of six African nations began a summit Monday on the crisis in Sudan’s Darfur region, at the invitation of Libyan Leader Moammar Gadhafi.

Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi (R) and Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak (L) walk to the opening session of the third African Summit at Tripoli in Darfur, Sudan May 16, 2005. (Reuters).

The presidents of Chad, Egypt, Eritrea, Gabon, Nigeria and Sudan gathered for the two-day summit that was inaugurated late Monday with a session closed to the press.

“This summit comes as part of Libya’s efforts to achieve reconciliation in Darfur, especially as all the parties welcome the Libyan role, and as Africa is trying to find an African solution to this crisis” amid international pressure on Sudan , Libyan Prime Minister Shukri Ghanem told reporters.

The Darfur summit was originally due to be held in Egypt but the venue was moved to Tripoli, where Darfur rebel and local leaders met last week with Gadhafi.

The U.N. estimates 180,000 people have died since violence broke out in Darfur in February 2003, mainly from war-induced hunger and disease.

“Nobody accepts the current situation in Darfur, which should be under control. We have to stop the fighting and push peace talks forward to achieve a political settlement,” Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit told reporters in Cairo on Sunday night.

The Darfur conflict erupted in after a rebel uprising against what is seen by many in the vast western province as years of state neglect and discrimination against Sudanese of African origin. Sudan ‘s government is accused of responding with unleashing and supporting the Janjaweed, an Arab militia that committed wide-scale abuses against the African population.

The U.N. Security Council adopted two resolutions in March on Darfur. Sudan ‘s government rejected both of them. One of the two provides for the trial of Darfur war crimes suspects before the International Criminal Court. The second one strengthens an arms embargo and imposes an asset freeze and travel ban on those who defy peace efforts.

Gadhafi has been trying in recent years to present his North African nation as a mediator in African conflicts. On Wednesday, two main rebel groups in Darfur signed a declaration in Tripoli pledging to adhere to a cease-fire and help facilitate the flow of humanitarian relief aid.

Meanwhile, Libya’s official news agency, JANA, said a “historic reconciliation” is expected between Sudan ‘s president Omar el-Bashir and his Eritrean counterpart at the summit.

Sudan has long accused its eastern neighbor, Eritrea, of supporting rebels in Darfur through providing them with funds, training camps, and a base.

Eritrea, in return, accuses the Sudanese government of supporting terrorists working in the country since its independence in 1993.

Egypt’s presidential spokesman Suleiman Awwad said the attendance of Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki is a “very positive indicator and a new beginning for achieving peace, not only in Darfur, but the whole of the Sudan .”