UN chief meets Sudanese president over Darfur

March 28, 2007 (RIYADH) — The UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon held talks on Wednesday with Sudanese President Omar al-Beshir over the conflict in Darfur on the sidelines of the Arab summit, a Sudanese official said.

A member of the Sudanese delegation said that it was “their first meeting.”

“The meeting addressed the issue of Darfur and ways to implement the agreements reached between Khartoum and the United Nations,” she said.

Ban had earlier addressed Arab leaders at the opening of the two-day Arab summit in the Saudi capital, and said that the crisis in the war-torn western region is not close to a solution.

Beshir has consistently rejected UN plans to deploy a peacekeeping force in Darfur and refused to turn over war crimes suspects to the International Criminal Court (ICC).

According to the United Nations, at least 200,00O people have died and more than two million been displaced since the conflict between rebels and government forces erupted in Darfur in February 2003. Some sources say the death toll is much higher.

On Monday Beshir again refused to have Ahmed Haroun, Sudan’s current secretary of state for humanitarian affairs who is suspected by the ICC of Darfur war crimes, questioned or sacked.

On Wednesday in Khartoum the United Nations signed a new agreement with Sudan in a bid to remove obstacles to the delivery of aid to Darfur by the world’s largest relief operation.

“The government of Sudan reaffirms its commitment to continue to support, protect and facilitate all humanitarian operations in Darfur,” said a joint statement issued by Khartoum and the world body after the signing.

The deal came in the face of repeated complaints by UN agencies and other aid organisations that bureaucratic obstacles were undermining the billion dollar a year relief operation involving some 13,000 staff.

(AFP)