Spanish FM in Sudan to sound out government on Darfur crisis

KHARTOUM, Sept 18 (AFP) — Spanish Foreign Minister Miguel Angel Moratinos was to hold talks with Sudanese officials on Saturday on the situation in the troubled region of Darfur ahead of a UN vote on the crisis.

Moratinos, whose country currently holds the rotating presidency of the UN Security Council, arrived in Khartoum late Friday at the head of a four-strong delegation.

His visit comes as the Security Council prepares to vote on Saturday on a US draft resolution pressing Sudan to rein in the Arab militias behind the bloodshed and violence in Darfur.

Moratinos was quoted by the official Al Anbaa newspaper as saying he wanted to have first-hand information and the Khartoum government’s viewpoint on Darfur, where fighting has killed at least 50,000 people and caused 1.4 million others to flee their homes.

He is due to meet UN special envoy Jan Pronk and then hold talks with President Omar al-Beshir before visiting Darfur itself.