UK’s Blair to speak with Sudanese al-Bashir Wednesday

Nov 22, 2006 (LONDON) — U.K. Prime Minister Tony Blair said Wednesday he intended to call Sudanese President Omar el-Bashir in order to keep up the pressure to end the violence in Darfur.

Pressed by lawmakers for action on the issue during his weekly House of Commons question session, Blair vowed to continue to push for Sudanese assent to a framework agreement reached last week in Ethiopia that calls for 20,000 U.N. peacekeepers and police to try to quell the violence in Darfur. Sudan has resisted a large U.N. force, but agreed in principle to the accord struck in Ethiopia.

Blair said he intended to speak to President Omar el-Bashir later Wednesday.

“This is a very, very serious situation, and it has been for some time,” Blair said. “We have the prospect of a way forward, and we need to take it.”

Blair said the framework agreement “is obviously the right way forward for Sudan.”

The agreement calls for the 20,000-strong peacekeeping force to replace a current and much smaller African Union force. It was to be predominantly African, with support provided by the U.N.

“It is clear that it is not U.K. or American forces that can do this particular mission,” Blair said. “That is clear because it’s not just our will. It’s the will of African countries there as well. The absolute key is to get significantly larger numbers of troops on the ground, backed up with the proper logistics and support. That is what we will be working to do.”

In 2003, rebels from ethnic African tribes took up arms against Sudan’s Arab-dominated government. El-Bashir’s government is accused of unleashing a pro-government militia force -the Arab janjaweed -in response.

More than 200,000 people have been killed and another 2.5 million have been displaced since the fighting broke out.

(AP)