US envoy in Cairo for talks with Arab League on Darfur
Oct 20, 2006 (CAIRO) — US President George W. Bush’s envoy for the Darfur crisis was in Cairo for talks with Arab League officials on how to restore security in the strife-torn Sudanese region, a US spokesman said.
Andrew Natsios just left Sudan after his first trip to the east African country since Bush appointed his as his special envoy, said Tom Casey, a State Department spokesman.
Natsios visited Khartoum, the southern city of Juba and the western region of Darfur during his one-week visit, but he did not meet with President Omar al-Beshir, Casey told reporters.
“He did not meet with President Bashir. And we’re disappointed that there wasn’t a possibility of doing that on this trip,” he said.
Natsios met with Foreign Minister Lam Akol and other government officials, however, he said.
“He’s actually now in Cairo, where he’ll be having discussions with representatives of the Arab League,” Casey said. Natsios will also meet with Egyptian officials.
“The Arab League has presented some ideas and had some discussions about how they might contribute to an expanded AU (African Union) mission that might also lead into a UN mission,” the spokesman said.
The UN Security Council adopted a resolution in August demanding that Sudan permit 20,000 UN peacekeepers into Darfur who would take over from an under-funded AU force of some 7,000 that has failed to stem the violence.
Beshir’s government has refused to accept the UN peacekeepers.
At least 200,000 people have died and some 2.5 million others have fled their homes since black African rebels launched a revolt in early 2003 to gain more autonomy from the Arab-dominated government.
Casey reacted cautiously to a question on the Sudanese military’s decision to declared United Nations envoy Jan Pronk “persona non grata” after the world body’s official said Sudan’s armed forces had “lost two major battles.”
“Mr. Pronk is the envoy for the UN out there. I fully expect he’ll be continuing his duties and responsibilities,” Casey said.
The Sudanese government protested Pronk’s remarks but stopped short of demanding his departure.
(AFP)