Sudan reject calls for early transfer of force in Darfur
July 28, 2007 (KHARTOUM) — Sudan dismissed calls by the US to allow UN-AU force on the ground in Darfur by October 1st.
A senior Sudanese official speaking to the daily Al-Hayat newspaper published in London said that the early transfer is an “unjustified rush”.
U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs Jendayi Fraser told Reuters that the US wants a combined U.N.-African Union force to function in Darfur from Oct. 1, three months earlier than proposed in a draft U.N. resolution.
A revised U.N. Security Council (UNSC) resolution drawn up by France and Britain and circulated this week sets a target date of no later than Dec. 31 to transfer authority from the African Union to a combined AU-UN force.
But the Sudanese official said that his government is still deliberating with UNSC members on the mandate of the force.
“Trying to force us to accept their terms without our consent will be a setback and will not help UN-AU [African Union] efforts to bring peace to Darfur” he added.
The Sudanese government is expected to issue a formal decision on the revised UNSC draft resolution on the UN-AU hybrid force within days.
A sticking point is issuing the resolution under Chapter Seven of the UN charter. Sudan objects to this part of the text and so do other council members.
Diplomats told AFP China, Qatar and Indonesia were pushing for softer language on the use of Chapter Seven.
The Darfur conflict began in 2003 when an ethnic minority rose up against the Arab-dominated government in Khartoum, which then enlisted the Janjaweed militia group to help crush the rebellion.
According to UN estimates, at least 200,000 people have died from the combined effect of war and famine since the conflict started in February 2003. But Khartoum disputes the figures.
(ST)