Sudanese official opposes UN, US intervention

May 9, 2006 (RABAT) — The United Nations and Washington haveno ground to intervene in the Darfur crisis following the signing of a peace agreement, a Sudanese official said Monday.

The UN and the United States have no political or legal basis to step in, Ghazi Salah Eddine, adviser to Sudan’s President Omar al-Bashir, told reporters here.

Salah has attended a pan-Arab conference in Casablanca.

On Friday, the Sudanese government and the Sudan Liberation Movement faction led by Minni Arkou Minawi signed a peace agreement in the Nigerian capital Abuja to end a three-year-old armed conflict.

The United States is proposing that a UN peacekeeping force be moved into the region from southern Sudan to reinforce a 7,000-strong African Union force.

The Sudanese government has refused to deploy UN peacekeeping personnel.

Ghazi also called on rebel factions staying out of the peace treaty to join.

Friday’s peace agreement was rejected by two armed groups, which maintained that security and compensation for war victims have not been guaranteed.

(ST/Xinhua)