Jordan may send peacekeepers to Darfur

AMMAN, Jordan, Aug 08, 2004 (UPI) — Jordan reportedly is prepared to send peace-keeping forces to the troubled Darfur region in Sudan, but only within an Arab agreement with Sudan.

Jordanian newspapers quoted Government Spokeswoman Asma Khader as saying her country’s decision to dispatch its peacekeepers depends on a Sudanese-Arab consensus. She said the issue of Arab peacekeepers in Darfur in western Sudan would be discussed during an extraordinary Arab foreign ministers meeting in Cairo Sunday.

Khader said Jordan was involved in internal Arab issues and “not to give any justification for external intervention under the pretext of protecting Darfur’s residents.”

She added that all Arabs were compelled to assist Sudan to put an end to the tragedy and to avoid any sanctions on Sudan if it failed to implement the latest U.N. Security Council resolution, which gave the Khartoum government 30 days to restore peace to the Darfur region.

More than 50,000 people have been killed and one million others have fled their homes in the civil strife.