Chad’s president says he supports UN force for Darfur

Sep 04, 2006 (PARIS ) — Chad’s president, visiting France, expressed support Monday for shifting the peacekeeping mission in neighboring Darfur to the United Nations, as the Sudanese government stepped up its resistance to the plan.

Chadian President Idriss Deby, speaking to reporters after talks with French President Jacques Chirac, said he welcomed the transfer of the force to U.N. peacekeepers when the African Union’s mandate runs out at the end of this month.

The Sudanese government rejected a U.N. Security Council resolution last week for some 20,000 U.N. troops and police in Darfur to replace the smaller and ineffective AU force. On Monday, Sudan’s foreign minister said that African peacekeepers will have to leave in a week if they don’t accept a deal that would block the U.N. force.

Chirac and Deby expressed support for the U.N. resolution, Chirac’s office said in a statement.

Their talks focused on regional issues and particularly the situation in Darfur, “which remains very worrying,” the statement said.

Chirac also urged greater efforts toward a political dialogue between Chad and Sudan, the statement said.

The two signed a peace plan in July after months of dispute over rebel groups operating along their border. Chad accused Sudan of involvement in a rebellion this spring in eastern Chad, while Sudan has accused Chad of harboring Sudanese rebels fighting in Darfur.

(AP/ST)