Annan arrives in Chad for talks on Sudan’s Darfur

NDJAMENA, July 1 (AFP) — United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan arrived in the Chadian capital Thursday from Sudan’s war-torn Darfur region.

Annan will meet with UN agencies based in Chad before holding talks with Chadian President Idriss Deby, whose country has taken in some 120,000 refugees from Darfur.

The talks between the UN chief and Deby are due to start at 1700 GMT, according to the official protocol.

Ndjamena has brokered talks between Darfur rebels and the government in Khartoum which resulted in a ceasefire in April.

But both sides have accused the other of repeatedly violating the ceasefire, with the most recent accusation coming shortly before Annan’s arrival here, as Darfur rebels accused the Sudanese air force of bombing three villages in the western part of Sudan.

Annan is due Friday to visit a camp of refugees from Darfur in Iriba, 60 kilometers (36 miles) from the border with Sudan.

More than 10,000 people have died in Darfur, one million been displaced and a further 120,000 refugees have poured across the western border into Chad since February last year, when black African groups rose up against the Arab-dominated government in Khartoum.