Khartoum pledges to disarm Darfur militias, jibs at Eritrean mediation

KHARTOUM, April 19 (AFP) — Sudan will disarm militias and is firmly opposed to mediation by Eritrea in a major conflict in Darfur, Sudanese Foreign Minister Mustafa Ismail said here Monday.

The conflict, which began a little over a year ago and which the United Nations says is currently the world’s worst humanitarian and human rights catastrophe, has claimed more than 10,000 lives and displaced some 670,000 people within Sudan, while another 100,000 have fled to eastern Chad, according to estimates by humanitarian groups.

The Sudanese government was set to send a delegation to the capital of Chad Ndjamena Tuesday to participate in “political talks with the armed groups of Darfur on Tuesday in a bid to reach a solution that restores peace, stability and security to the region,” Ismail told reporters here.

Last week, the United States demanded that Sudan immediately permit a UN team probing alleged atrocities to enter Darfur and said it held Khartoum responsible for the safety of all people there.

The Sudanese minister said his government had rejected a proposal by the armed groups of Darfur rebels to bring in Eritrea as a mediator in efforts to find a solution to the conflict.

He said his government was “serious about disarming the militias and taking to court everyone suspected of involvement in militia activities.”

Government spokesman and Information Minister Al-Zahawe Ibrahim Malik reiterated his government’s “firm opposition” to any Eritrean mediation because “the Eritrean regime is opposed to the peace, security and interests of the Sudan.”

He told reporters on Monday that Khartoum “will not tolerate any Eritrean involvement in the Darfur question.”