Sudan receives letter from UN over boosting AU troops

Oct 3, 2006 (KHARTOUM) — Sudanese President Omer al-Bashir received on Tuesday a message from Secretary General of the United Nations Kofi Annan over boosting the African Union (AU) peacekeeping forces in Darfur.

Sudanese presidential spokesperson Mahjoub Fadel Badri told reporters that the message “contains a plan to provide assistance to the African Union forces in Darfur in the logistic, equipment and consultancy domains.”

Describing the message as “good,” the spokesperson said that the Sudanese president would reply to it “positively.” He reiterated the government’s position of refusing the UN Security Council Resolution 1706, which calls for a deployment of international peacekeeping forces in Darfur to replace the African forces.

But he stressed at the same time that the government “never rejects dialogue with the Untied Nations as Sudan is a member of the world organization.” Badri said that the government was keen to find an outlet to the current crisis on the international peacekeepers deployment, indicating that the government was flexible to adjust its stance.

“We are for any change that will put the African Union forces in a position that would distinguish them in carrying out their role in preserving peace and supervising the Darfur Peace Agreement,” the spokesperson said.

The UN Security Council passed the resolution 1706 on Aug. 31, calling for the deployment of more than 20,000 international peacekeepers to replace the 7,800-strong AU forces in Darfur.

But the Sudanese government has rejected the mission transfer, saying that it was a violation of Sudan’s sovereignty and an effort by the West to colonize the African oil producing country.

The AU Peace and Security Council, during a special summit meeting in New York on Aug. 20, decided to extend the mandate of the African forces in Darfur to Dec. 31 after it expired on Sept.30.

(Xinhua/ST)