EU’s Barroso travels to Darfur with peace agenda

Oct 1, 2006 (AL FASHER) — European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso visited Darfur Sunday to underline European concern about the deteriorating security and humanitarian crisis in this war-torn area of western Sudan.

“I’m here to show the involvement of the European community for peace in Darfur,” he said on the flight from the Sudanese capital, Khartoum.

The African Union’s deputy mission head, Hassan Alieu Gibril, welcomed Barroso and Luis Michel, the European commissioner for development and humanitarian aid, to El Fasher, the capital of North Darfur, early Sunday.

The European official said he had a constructive meeting with Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir Saturday night. The two of them had discussed the Darfur issue “frankly and openly” for two hours, Barroso said.

“I ask for an end of obstacles to the African Union mission and to humanitarian work,” Barroso said.

At least 200,000 people have died and some 2 million have been displaced since the start of a 2003 revolt by rebels from Darfur’s ethnic African population. The Arab-dominated Sudanese government is alleged to have responded to the revolt by unleashing Arab militias, known as the janjaweed, against ethnic African villagers.

A U.N. Security Council resolution calls for 20,000 peacekeepers to replace the African Union force that has done little to prevent escalating violence in Darfur. But Sudan’s president Omar al-Bashir fiercely rejects the U.N. mission, and it cannot be deployed without his consent. African Union troops were due to leave Darfur in September, but Khartoum has agreed to let them remain until the end of the year.

Barroso visited African Union offices in El Fasher where he met incoming AU peacekeeping forces commander Major General Luke Aprazi. He was scheduled to fly to the regional body’s headquarters in Ethiopia later Sunday.

(AP/ST)