Sudan says ready for cooperation with international community over Darfur
KHARTOUM, Sept 2, 2004 (Xinhua) — Sudan is fully prepared for cooperation with the international community in restoring peace, easing the humanitarian crisis and reaching a comprehensive political solution to the troubled west Darfur region, Sudanese Foreign Minister Mustafa Osman Ismail said here Thursday.
The government is ready to cooperate with international organizations, such as the African Union and the Arab League, the minister said, noting that his country is also paying close attention to the Darfur-related consultation at the UN Security Council and will continue cooperation with the United Nations.
Ismail welcomed a deal signed Wednesday in the Nigerian capital of Abuja which would facilitate humanitarian efforts in Darfur. He hoped that the deal would help the government and Darfur rebels reach a comprehensive peace agreement soon.
The UN Security Council met on Sept. 2 to consider whether to follow through with its threat of unspecified action against Sudan, if Khartoum fails to meet its requirement of quelling violence in Darfur.
The UN Security Council adopted a resolution on July 30, giving Sudan 30 days to make good its promises to disarm the Janjaweed militia, bring its leaders to justice and protect civilians in Darfur, or face economic and diplomatic sanctions.
In Abuja, the Sudanese government and Darfur rebels reached their first agreement on humanitarian issues late Wednesday although they still have not signed it. The small progress however was overshadowed by the rebels’ refusal Thursday to discuss the issue of disarmament.
The rebels would not “accept the cantonment of our forces, even if it means the collapse of the talks,” warned a delegate from the rebel Sudan Liberation Movement, when the African Union-sponsored Abuja talks moved on to the crucial security issue for the first time on Thursday.
Moreover, the rebels said they called for a no-fly zone in Darfur and a neutral international body to investigate the crimes committed by the Sudanese government and the pro-government Janjaweed militia.
The UN deadline expired a few days ago and UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan said Wednesday that despite “some progress,” the Sudanese government had not “fully” met its commitments to protecting civilians and disarming the Janjaweed militia.
UN special envoy Jan Pronk appealed to Sudan on Thursday to accept international assistance, such as an African peacekeeping force, in stabilizing the situation in the troubled western Darfur region.
Briefing the Security Council on Darfur, Pronk said the Sudanese government has made “some progress” in stabilizing the region as required by the council’s Resolution 1556 adopted on July 30.
But the envoy said Khartoum failed to stop attacks by Arab militias against civilians, disarm these militias, bring their leaders to justice or even identify them.
He said Annan’s proposal to expand the African Union’s monitoring mission in Darfur “offers a way toward this end.”
In another development, Sudan on Thursday deployed more government troops in Darfur to help restore security and distribute humanitarian relief aid.
The deployment of the additional forces and equipment was announced by Sudanese Interior Minister Ahmed Mohamed Haroon, who is also President Omar el-Bashir’s representative to Darfur.
Haroon was quoted by the official Sudan News Agency as saying the additional forces would be followed by a number of battalions to safeguard cities and refugee camps and participate in distributing humanitarian relief aid and maintaining security around refugee camps to be set up.
He did not give a number for the troops being dispatched, but said it brought to 2,600 the number of police officers deployed in the region in recent days.
The conflict in Darfur has left more than 10,000 dead and 1 million others displaced since the conflict broke out 18 months ago.
On July 15, the African Union brokered a political dialogue in the Ethiopian capital of Addis Ababa between the Sudanese government and the two rebel groups, yet the talks collapsed due to differences on various issues.
The Abuja meeting, which opened on Aug. 23, is another effort by the 53-nation African bloc to help bring about a political solution to the crisis in Darfur.