Sudan President says foreign intervention inflamed Darfur crisis

Mar 23, 2006 (KHARTOUM) — Sudanese president Thursday blamed the Darfur crisis on foreign intervention motivated by economic interests and rebel “intransigence.”

Speaking to a gathering of Arab finance ministers, President Omar al-Bashir said his government could resolve the three-year conflict in Darfur, western Sudan, if “foreign intervention ceases” and “Darfur rebels end their intransigence.”

He claimed the dispute began with “a fight over a camel” that was inflamed by foreigners who were interested in Darfur’s natural resources, which included petroleum.

“The enemies of the country wanted to set a fire of sedition in Darfur, which until then had been a mere tribal problem,” al-Bashir said.

Fighting began in Darfur in February 2003 when members of the area’s African ethnic groups took up arms over what they saw as decades of neglect and discrimination by the government in Khartoum.

The government responded with a counter-insurgency operation in which pro-government Arab militia attacked the African inhabitants of Darfur, killing people and destroying villages. U.N. and other aid agencies have accused the government of supporting the Arab militia, but Khartoum has denied this.

At least 180,000 people have been killed in the conflict and more than 2 million people have been displaced, many to neighboring Chad.

Peace talks between the government and rebel factions in Abuja, Nigeria, have failed to reach a settlement. The African Union, which is mediating the talks, is pushing for an agreement by the end of April.

The finance ministers met in Khartoum as part of preparations for the Arab summit next week.

The secretary general of the Arab League, Amr Moussa, said in Khartoum Thursday that the summit would discuss Darfur.

(ST/AP)