Pronk says UN troops will not enter Darfur against the Sudan’s will
Feb 4, 2006 (ABUJA) — The UN secretary-general’s representative to Sudan, Jan Pronk, has affirmed that UN troops will not interfere in Sudan against the will of the Sudanese people and considering the fact that the UN forces are not part of NATO.
He furteher said that they will not enter Darfur unless the AU requested and when movement was possible. He said that the international forces would not work unless there was peace and ceasefire.
During his address in Abuja to the plenary session of delegates of Darfur peace talks with the participation of the AU and the international community, Pronk urged the AU to continue with the peace process, affirming the UN’s full support to this mission.
Jan Pronk also urged all the Darfur parties who signed the peace agreement to work towards development and democracy. He said that the UN was greatly concerned about the escalating violence and the deaths of civilians. He pointed out that the tensions between Sudan and Chad had left negative effects in Western Darfur State.
Pronk said that there were a number of armed groups that could not be controlled. He said that UN humanitarian workers were attacked by those groups. He said a decision had been made not to provide humanitarian aid to areas were there was fighting.
Pronk affirmed that if the UN requested it to send international forces to Darfur, it would not act alone but in partnership with the AU.
Pronk urged disputing parties in Abuja not to internationalize the Darfur issue and ally with the armed rebel movements in the country. He also urged them to avoid receiving arms from foreign countries and not to participate in supporting political goals of other countries.
Jan Pronk urged the warring parties to stop attacking convoys, especially the trade ones, and called a halt of the armed militias considering the fact that most of their victims were civilians, as well as capture outlaws and present them to court. He said the AU should be respected and not attacked.
(ST)