Sudan stalling Arab League resolution condemning Eritrea

March 26, 2010 (WASHINGTON) — The Sudanese government has rejected a draft resolution by the Arab League foreign ministers condemning Eritrea for occupying parts of Djibouti prompting anger among other states at the Libyan city of Sirte, the pan-Arab Al-Jazeera TV said.

The Doha based TV said that a large number of Arab countries slammed Sudan for taking this position but it is not clear what the fate of this clause in the deliberations.

The Inter-Governmental Authority on Development (IGAD) Council of Ministers, which included Sudan, in May last year called on the UN Security Council (UNSC) to sanction Eritrea over its call to overthrow the Somali government.

Furthermore, the African Union (AU) endorsed a similar resolution last year at their summit in Libya last year.

Sudan’s apparent approval of the sanctions angered Eritrean president Isaias Afwerki earlier this year who made it clear in an interview saying his government was “surprised” for not opposing it at the IGAD summit.

The UN Security Council accuses Eritrea of providing funds and weapons to Islamist insurgents in Somalia where violence has killed 21,000 since the beginning of 2007, and last December the council slapped sanctions on Eritrea.

The resolution supported by 13 of the 15 council members was designed to target the nation’s leadership, imposing an arms embargo as well as asset freezes and travel bans on individuals and firms to be designated by an existing sanctions committee.

Sudanese president Omer Hassan Al-Bashir during a visit to Asmara this month declared that his country condemned the sanctions in a move to contain the strained relations.

Eritrea was the first foreign trip for Bashir after being charged by the International Criminal Court (ICC) on charges of “war crimes and crimes against humanity” for his alleged role in the humanitarian crisis in Darfur.

(ST)