UN’s Annan talks with Sudan’s Bashir on UN peacekeepers

May 23, 2006 (UNITED NATIONS) — UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan has spoken with the Sudanese President seeking support for the deployment of a UN team assessing conditions for a possible peacekeeping operation in Darfur, UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said Tuesday.

Dujarric told reporters at the UN headquarters in New York that Annan told President Omar Hassan Ahmed al-Bashir that he hoped to see the UN assessment mission to be dispatched as soon as possible and sought the cooperation and support of the Sudanese Government to that end.

Annan also reiterated to Bashir the need for all parties to respect the peace agreement reached earlier this month between the government and one of the rebel groups operating in Darfur.

Two UN envoys arrived in Khartoum for talks with Sudanese officials in a bid to gain access to Darfur for the UN team. The Security Council unanimously adopted a resolution on last Tuesday under Chapter VII of the Charter, which allows for enforcement measures, calling for such a team to be deployed within a week.

(Xinhua)