Sudan to verify health documents of Rwandan troops in Darfur: FM

23 August 2004
In Peace process

KHARTOUM, Aug 22, 2004 (SUNA) — The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has called on the federal Ministry of Health to verify that the Rwandan troops, currently in Darfur to protect the African Union’s team for monitoring the cease-fire, are holding all the documents which are supposed to be obtained by any foreign national who arrives in Sudan, said Foreign Minister, Dr. Mustafa Osman Ismail.

In a press conference he held Sunday jointly with the State Minister at the Ministry of Interior, Ahmed Mohamed Haroun, at Martyr Al-Zubair’s Conference Hall, Dr. Ismail said that the public opinion have the right to get disturbed and to verify if the Rwandan troops were meeting the required health conditions.

He said that the federal Ministry of Health, in collaboration with the World Health Organization (WHO), will verify if the Rwandan troops are holding the required health documents, adding that the government can ask any person to leave the country immediately if he was found not holding the required health documents.

Responding to a question whether there are hostile elements in the displaced camps, the minister said that there are three categories of citizens at the displaced camps in Darfur, which are a group of people who were forced to leave their home villages and to refuge to the camps, a group of citizens who fear from security conditions outside the displaced camps and a third politicized category of people at the displaced camps who have relation with Darfur rebels and attempt to compel displaced citizens to give untrue reports whenever their camps are visited by foreigners.

On his expectation regarding a Security Council’s sitting on Darfur issue, the Foreign Minister said that the Sudanese diplomacy was successful to take Darfur’s file out of the state of confrontation to the state of cooperation.

He said that the final assessment of the joint Action Plan for Darfur will take place after a visit of the joint mechanism of Sudan government and the United Nations to Darfur during August 26 – 29, adding that the joint assessment will be submitted to the Security Council.

Responding to a question, the Foreign Minister said that there are circles hostile to Sudan, which do not want to get acquainted with the real situation in Sudan, including the American Congress.