France wants UN troops on Sudan-CAR-Chad borders
Nov 13, 2006 (KHARTOUM) — France attempted this weekend in Cairo and Khartoum to convince Sudan to accept the deployment of an international force on the borders with Chad and the Central African Republic.
French Foreign Minister Philippe Douste-Blazy first held talks with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak in a bid to explore new solutions after the Sudanese government made it clear it would reject a UN force in war-ravaged Darfur.
But the Egyptians were as supportive of France’s plan as they were apprehensive.
Mubarak “told us that (Sudanese President Omar) al-Bashir was not opposed to certain ideas, but we had to listen to him and we should not appear like a stooge of the Americans or the British,” a French diplomat told AFP on condition of anonymity.
Bashir has repeatedly rejected security council resolution 1706, adopted on August 31, which calls for the deployment of UN troops to take over from the cash-strapped and ill-equipped African Union mission (AMIS) currently operating in Darfur.
The civil war in Darfur, the western Sudanese region bordered by Chad and the Central African Republic, has left 200,000 people dead and displaced 2.5 million since the conflict started in 2003, according to UN figures.
Washington, which has championed tough action against Khartoum and accuses the Sudanese army and its allied militia of genocide in Darfur, appears to have softened its stance in recent weeks.
“There is a softening of positions on both sides right now,” a French diplomat said on condition of anonymity.
“The question is now whether we are heading towards AMIS plus … or an AMIS plus plus,” a french diplomat said refering to two options of reinforcing the AU force, either with Sudan’s friendly countries, or with support from the United Nations as well.
Sudanese Foreign Minister Lam Akol told Douste-Blazy on Sunday in Khartoum that the question of peacekeeping forces should wait, the main priority should be given to reaching a political solution in Darfur.
But France proposed to engage further for a political solution, by pushing Darfur rebels who had not signed a peace accord with Khartoum on May 5 in the Nigerian capital Abuja.
Paris, concerned with regionalising the conflict in Darfur, has sought in parallel to obtain an agreement in Cairo and Khartoum, for the rapid deployment of an international force along the border with Chad and the Central African Republic, two of its African allies.
Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit reacted to the idea with a pinch of sarcasm, telling reporters in Cairo that Khartoum may perceive this as a French “manoeuvre”.
Bashir who received Douste-Blazy Sunday evening, said he was ready to examine the possibility of the deployment of “observers”, a concept still far from French ambitions, whose army already monitors the border from Chad.
The French minister did however stress that the idea of a border force “was moving forward on both sides.”
As a permanent member of the UN security council, France is expected to participate Thursday in an AU-sponsored meeting on Darfur in Addis Ababa.
(AFP)