UN abandons mediation Sudanese govt, eastern rebels

Sept 11, 2005 (KHARTOUM) — According to the Sudanese newspaper Alwan, the UN secretary-general’s peace envoy to Sudan Jan Pronk’s is planning to abandon mediation efforts between the government and the rebel Eastern Front (EF).

Sources close to the Sudanese opposition in Asmara have said that Jan Pronk’s one-day visit to Asmara last Wednesday 7 September was in a bid to boost the dossier and determine a location for negotiations, he however, as expected, refused to discuss the negotiation issues between the government and the EF.

The same sources said that Jan Pronk and the EF in a meeting which lasted several hours only discussed humanitarian assistance and the aerial dropping of food to the areas controlled by the EF.

Meanwhile, the EF, which includes the Beja Congress and Free Lions, inside and outside Sudan, is now preparing to convene an all-inclusive conference for its members to be held next October in Tripoli, Libya.

(ST)