Head of Arab League to attend tribal reconciliation conference in Darfur
NYALAy, Sudan, June 3, 2005 (MENA) — Arab League Secretary-General Amr Mussa arrived Friday in Nyala city, the capital of southern Darfur, to attend a tribal reconciliation conference.
Mussa, who will be accompanied by Sudanese Interior Minister Abdelrahim Mohamed Hussein and Egyptian Ambassador Mohamed Abdelmunim al-Shazli, will have a first-hand experience on the African Union efforts to monitor the Ndjamena cease-fire agreement and international aid efforts.
He will then head for Al-Fashir city, the capital of northern Darfur, to inspect camps and meet officials there.
He will also hold talks with the UN chief’s special representative for Sudan Jan Pronk on Darfur.
On Saturday he will head for Khartoum, where he will meet Sudanese President Umar al-Bashir and a number of other senior government officials.
Mussa told reporters upon his arrival in Nyala that the visit demonstrates the Arab League support, along with the African Union, for Darfur.
He rejected reports that the pan-Arab body was not doing enough to resolve the Darfur crisis.
He said the League is the first international body to send a fact-finding mission to Darfur.
He said the AL took part in Abuja negotiations and the Tripoli summit on Darfur in addition to a series of AU summits on the issue.
Mussa said that his visit is also aimed at drumming up Arab logistical support for AU troops in Darfur.