Arab League urges Sudan to accept UN troops in Darfur
Cairo, June 4 (SUNA) — The Secretary General of the Arab League, Amr Musa, backed the deployment of United Nations troops in Darfur. He invited Sudan to accept UN peacekeeper in the troubled western Sudan region,
In an opinion piece published in the Egyptian press Sunday, Musa called on the Sudan to accept the role of the UN troops for the realization of security and stability in Darfur, saying that the recent consultations with the UN official, Lakhadar Al-Ibrahimi and senior officials in Sudan Government about the issue were important and in the right track.
Musa said that the deployment of the UN troops necessitates pervious consultation with Sudan Government about its mandate and work conditions. He added consultations between the national unity government and the UN is the sole way for creation of an atmosphere of confidence and guarantees Sudan sovereignty.
He said that the international mission would speed up the process and supports the capability to realize peace on the ground in Darfur.
The Secretary General of the Arab League said it is importance for the AU mission in Sudan to obtain funding and support to carry out their task for implementation of the agreement.
The Arab League’s Secretary General stressed the importance of the implementation of Darfur peace agreement properly on the ground, saying that it requires strong and immediate consolidation for the AU mission in Darfur, which would be a peacekeeping mission belonging to the UN.
Musa called on the Arab and Muslim nations to boost the implementation of Abuja peace agreement.
He said that the Arab League participated actively along with UN and EU, besides international and regional bodies at Abuja negotiations which were sponsored by the AU with the aim to end the tragedy in Darfur, saying that the negotiation parties and the international community are required to act decisively and to carry out joint work for peace in Darfur.
Musa said that the holdout rebel groups, which did not yet signed the peace agreement, should sign it and put aside their past differences to consolidate the pillars of the peace toward realizing a better future for their people and Sudan.
Human rights activists are concerned at the lack of accurate coverage of Darfur in the Arab press or reaction from Arab governments, in particular that, in an Arab League member, more than 300,000 Muslims have been killed as a result of the Khartoum regime’s campaign and over two million people displaced.
(ST)