Kofi Annan to visit Darfur and southern Sudan on Friday

KHARTOUM, May 21 (SUNA) — The Secretary General of the United Nations, Kofi Annan, is due to begin on Friday a two-day visit to Sudan, during which he will visit Darfur and Rumbeik.

U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan, left, talks to the Sudan Foreign Minister Mustafa Osman Ismail, right, Wednesday, June 30, 2004 as he arrives for the first time in Khartoum, Sudan to assess the humanitarian crisis. (AP).

In a press statement Saturday, the State Minister for Foreign Affairs, Al-Tigani Salih Fedail, said that by the visit Annan aims to follow up the work of the UN peace support mission in Sudan.

He said that Annan will hold talks with the government officials on the peace issues in Sudan.

Fedail said that Annan will arrive in Khartoum from Addis Ababa where he would participate Thursday in a donors’ conference for boosting the African Union’s mission in Sudan.

He said that Sudan government will take part in the donors’ conference in Addis Ababa. Fedail said that Chairman of the African Union Commission, Alfa Omar Konare, would pay on June 1st a visit to Sudan.

The minister affirmed the government readiness for participation in the coming session of Abuja negotiations at any time.

He said that a delegation for defining sites of the forces will visit Darfur states Sunday, adding that this committee is expected to finalize its mission within two weeks.

He explained that this committee which includes representatives of the government and the armed movements will submit its report to the African Union.