US envoy in Sudan to persuade Khartoum to accept UN force

Oct 13, 2006 (KHARTOUM) — The US special envoy to Sudan, Andrew Natsios, arrived in the country Friday to begin his mission of trying to persuade the government to allow a UN peacekeeping force into Darfur.

Sudan has promised to cooperate with Natsios, the former director of the US Agency for International Development, but has resolutely refused to accept UN forces in Darfur, the western region where an under-powered African Union force has been unable to curb escalating fighting between pro-government troops and militia and several rebel groups.

“We welcome the visit of Mr. Natsios to Sudan, and we’ll be listening to what he will say,” the head of the US desk at Sudan’s Foreign Ministry, Abdul-Basit al-Badawi al-Sanousi, told reporters shortly before he received Natsios at Khartoum airport. Journalists were not allowed to speak to Natsios at the airport.

State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said this week that the main purpose of Natsios’ trip would be to encourage Sudan’s government to clear the way for the deployment of 20,000 UN troops and police in Darfur.

The UN Security Council voted for such a force in August. At present there are 7,000 African Union peacekeepers in Darfur, but they are under-funded and poorly equipped.

More than 200,000 people have been killed and 2.5 million displaced since the violence began in Darfur in early 2003.

Natsios, whom US President George W. Bush named as his special envoy last month, called Egypt’s foreign minister as he headed to Sudan, the Foreign Ministry said in a statement Friday.

Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit spoke to Natsios about the “danger of continuing the policy of escalation with Khartoum” and urged him to seek alternatives, the statement said.

The statement said US policy should focus on “implementing the acceptable parts” of the Security Council resolution on Darfur, but it did not specify what those parts were.

During his six-day visit, Natsios is expected to meet Sudan’s foreign minister and go to Darfur.

(AP/ST)