Islamic scholars in Sudan to mediate Darfur conflict

KHARTOUM, Sept 3 (AFP) — A group of Islamic scholars is visiting Sudan to try to mediate an end to the 18-month conflict between the government and rebels in the troubled western region of Darfur.

The group, led by prominent Egyptian cleric, Sheikh Yussef al-Qaradawi, arrived in the Sudanese capital late Thursday.

“We came here for an important issue,” al-Qaradawi told state television upon arrival.

He said the people fighting in Darfur are “all Muslims” and “they have to listen to the voice of Islam and the voice of Islamic scholars.”

Al-Qaradawi, a regular guest on the Qatar-based al-Jazeera satellite channel’s religious talk shows, did not say how he and his colleagues intended to mediate the conflict.

They were, however, expected to meet religious and political leaders in Khartoum before travelling to the war-torn region, where fighting has left between 30,000 and 50,000 dead, dispalced over a million from their homes and forced some 180,000 into neighboring Chad.

The group also includes Islamic scholars Selim el-Awa of Egypt, Faisal Walui of Lebanon and Ali Daghi of Iraq.