African Union to mediate between Sudan, Chad

Dec 22, 2005 (KHARTOUM) — Sudan said on Thursday that an African Union (AU) delegation will visit Khartoum in an effort to end a dispute between Sudan and Chad.

Sudanese Foreign Ministry spokesman Jamal Mohamed Ibrahim saidhis government welcomed the AU delegation, currently visiting Chad, and appreciated its efforts to patch up the rifts between the two countries.

Ibrahim said Sudan has called for a dialogue between leaders of the two neighbor countries through open mechanisms to overcome thecrisis.

He stressed his country’s sorrow over a new escalation by Chad who filed a complaint against Sudan to the UN Security Council.

Chad accused the Sudanese government of supporting Chadian rebel groups which recently launched a series of attacks against Chadian civilian targets in its eastern border leading to a severeloss of lives and properties.

Ibrahim denied these accusations, describing the ongoing unrestin Chad as “internal affairs to which Sudan has no relation.”

The Sudanese foreign ministry has clarified its innocence in a statement issued on Wednesday.

The statement said “false accusation will not serve movement ofbilateral relations and brotherhood between the two countries and will not help realize stability and positive interaction between overlapping population on the borders.”

(Xinhua)