U.S. envoy to assess humanitarian situation in Darfur, discuss peace plan : FM

July 27, 2016 (KHARTOUM) – The visit of United States Special Envoy, Donald Booth, aims to assess the situation of displaced people in Darfur and to brief the government officials on the outcome of his contacts with the opposition holdout groups, said the Sudanese foreign ministry on Wednesday

On Tuesday, Booth has started a visit to North Darfur state where he visites the newly displaced people to assess the security and humanitarian situation. Also he he will meet with the state authorities and UNAMID officials.

Ministry of Foreign Affairs Spokesperson, Garib Allah Khidir, told reporters that the ministry is organizing Booth’s visit and his meetings with the different officials, in coordination with the relevant authorities .

Khidir added the U.S. diplomat would brief the government officials tasked with the file of peace in Darfur on the outcome of his visit to the region and his observations.

“Booth is very concerned by the conditions of displaced civilians who fled their villages following the latest fighting in Jebel Marra,” further said the newly appointed spokesperson.

He went further to say that the visiting envoy would discuss with the Sudanese officials the outcome of his discussions in Paris with the holdout opposition groups on the African Union brokered Roadmap Agreement.

Both and his aides recently met with the opposition groups in Addis Ababa and Paris in a bid to convince them to join Roadmap Agreement.

Also, he and the joint chief mediator for peace in Darfur Martin Uhomoibhi met recently in Paris with Abdel Wahid al-Nur, the leader of a Sudan Liberation Movement faction to persuade him to join the peace process.

Last week, the opposition Sudan Call groups disclosed that Booth encouraged them to reconsider their position from the roadmap, adding he also reached the head of the African Union High Level Implementation Panel (AUHIP) Thabo Mbeki and helped to soften his position towards their demand for additional confidence building measures before to sign it.

His visit to Sudan comes before a series of meetings Mbeki would held in Khartoum with the Sudanese officials and the opposition groups in Addis Ababa next month.

The Sudan Call forces said they are willing to join the roadmap after guarantees that the peace plan would lead to an inclusive process that would be conducted in a conducive environment where freedoms are not restricted and political prisoners are freed.

(ST)