Sudanese cabinet voices rejection of UN’s takeover in Darfur
Feb 26, 2006 (KHARTOUM) — The Sudanese cabinet voiced its rejection on Sunday to foreign intervention in the country and the UN’s takeover of the peacemaking mission from the African Union (AU) in Sudan’s Darfur region.
The council of Ministers made the rejection after hearing reports by the ministers of defence, foreign affairs and interior during a meeting chaired by President Omar al-Bashir.
In a statement issued following the meeting, the council affirmed its confidence in the AU’s capability to continue keeping security in Darfur.
The council also reiterated the necessity of continuing diplomatic efforts and intensifying contacts with friendly countries as well as the international community in order to support the peacekeeping efforts by the AU.
Vowing further efforts toward a political solution to the Darfur conflict, the council declared its keenness on forming a united front and exposing the intentions of some foreign powers toward Sudan.
Meanwhile, official spokesman of the Council of Ministers, Omer Mohammed Salih, told a press conference that the reports of the ministers revealed that Sudan was targeted by foreign powers which utilized the Darfur conflict to justify their intervention in Sudan’s internal affairs in a bid to control Sudan’s politics and the huge natural wealth in Darfur.
He added that the Council of Ministers reviewed the peacekeeping efforts of the AU and the government’s support to these efforts in order to solve the Darfur conflict through diplomatic and political measures, namely the signing of the ceasefire agreement and approving the monitoring of the African Union to the agreement.
The spokesman also accused Darfur rebels of “breaching the ceasefire agreement to complicate the situation in an effort to pave the way for foreign intervention.”
The AU force of 7,800, including troops and observers, has struggled to maintain order in the western region where a three-year conflict has claimed 300,000 lives and displaced more than two million people.
War broke out in February 2003, when black ethnic groups launched a rebellion against Khartoum, which was brutally repressed by the Arab Islamist regime of President Omar al-Beshir.
Beshir is bitterly opposed to an international mission, saying only an African initiative can end the conflict.
In December, the AU said it needed an extra 130 million dollars (109 million euros) to meet the 465-million-dollar cost of the Darfur force, which is funded mainly by the European Union, the United Nations and the United States.
Rounds of peace talks between government and Darfur rebel groups held under the auspices of the AU have so far failed to hammer out a solution to the conflict.
(ST)