Sudan denies barring UN envoy from Darfur

April 3, 2006 (KHARTOUM) — Sudan Monday denied barring the UN’s humanitarian envoy Jan Egeland from the war-torn Darfur region, but instead asked his visit be delayed because of “popular sentiment”.

“Egeland was not barred from visiting Darfur but was only asked to postpone the visit due to the growing popular sentiment against the UN for its plans of deploying foreign forces in Darfur,” information ministry official Bekri Mulah said.

Egeland was to have started a visit to Darfur on Monday to inspect the dire situation facing people after three years of war before heading to Khartoum. But the UN announced earlier the Sudanese government had told him he was not welcome.

“Mr Egelend has been informed that he is not welcome in Darfur or Khartoum,” said Dawn Elizabeth, the spokeswoman in Sudan for the UN’s Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).

Mulah said the situation was similar to Febraury when protestors had blocked Sweden’s Aid Minister Carin Jaemtin from visiting Darfur in anger over the cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed published in Europe.

At the time, Stockholm claimed Khartoum had blocked the delegation because of its support for UN-backed troops in Darfur.

Egeland, the UN’s humanitarian relief coordinator, has in recent weeks stepped up his criticism of the Khartoum government for the worsening situation in Darfur, where the army and allied militia are fighting rebels from minority tribes.

Some 300,000 people have died and some two million displaced. Around two million are living in crowded and unsafe camps in the neighbouring Chad.

Egeland was scheduled to travel to either Nyala or El Geneina in Darfur on Monday before proceeding to the capital for talks with officials there.

(ST/AFP)