Arab League hopes UN vote on Darfur will not hinder peace efforts

CAIRO, July 31 (AFP) — The Arab League voiced hope on Saturday that the adoption of a UN Security Council resolution on the crisis in Sudan’s Darfur region would not damage the chances for peace, the Egyptian MENA reported.

The 22-member Arab League hopes that “this resolution will be a helping and not impeding factor in ongoing efforts to resolve the current crisis in Darfur…,” MENA quoted a spokesman as saying.

He added that Arab League Secretary General Amr Mussa was conducting intensive contacts with involved parties including the Sudanese government, to help it overcome the deteriorating humanitarian situation.

Musa was also engaged in diplomatic efforts to restore political dialogue between the government and the other parties.

The UN Security Council on Friday adopted a resolution giving Sudan 30 days to rein in pro-government militias carrying out atrocities in Darfur or face international action, with an implicit threat of sanctions.

The Sudanese government late Friday rejected the resolution, calling for more time to disarm the militia, and insisting sanctions would only aggravate the situation in its western region of Darfur.

France on Friday ordered its troops stationed in Chad to provide security along the border with Darfur, as Khartoum vowed a general mobilisation against any foreign military intervention in its troubled region.

An estimated 50,000 people have been killed and more than a million displaced in the conflict between two rebel groups and Khartoum-backed Janjaweed fighters, who are accused of atrocities against the civilian population caught in the middle.

The conflict broke out in February last year when the rebels revolted against Khartoum, giving rise to what the United Nations has described as the world’s worst humanitarian crisis.