Libya to host African mini-summit on Darfur: Egypt
CAIRO, Oct 4 (AFP) — Libya is to host an African mini-summit on Sudan’s Darfur crisis later this month, with Chad, Egypt and Nigeria also taking part, Egyptian presidential spokesman Maged Abdel Fattah told reporters.
“The mini-summit on Darfur will be held under the auspices of Nigeria in its capacity as president of the African Union (AU),” he said Monday.
Sudan’s neighbors Egypt, Chad and Libya would also attend.
He said consultations were underway to determine the exact date of the summit, which was to take place in Libya “before October 21”.
Abdel Fattah made the announcement after talks between President Hosni Mubarak and Nigeria’s junior foreign minister, Aboubakar Tanko, and Libyan leader Moamer Khadafi’s special envoy, Said Arabi Hefiana, who is also assistant secretary general of the AU.
He said that during the meeting, Tanko and Hefiana handed a letter to Mubarak from Nigeria’s president and current AU president, Olusegun Obasanjo, inviting the Egyptian leader to the mini-summit.
“President Mubarak has accepted the invitation,” said Abdel Fattah, who added that the summit was part of ongoing AU efforts to “contain the situation in Darfur”.
It also aimed to “fend off the consequences of United Nations Security Council resolutions and consolidate the role of the AU in dealing with the conflict.”
The Security Council passed a resolution in September threatening sanctions against Sudan’s vital oil industry for failing to rein in pro-government Arab militias accused of atrocities in Darfur.
Abdel Fattah confirmed that Sudanese President Omar al-Beshir would attend the summit, as would “all concerned Sudanese parties”, in apparent reference to the two main rebel groups in Darfur.
“Sudan should be given enough time to deal with the humanitarian situation in Darfur,” he said.
The leaders will also discuss the AU-led peace negotiations in Abuja between the Sudanese government and the Darfur rebel groups that broke off in September over disagreements on security issues, said Abdel Fattah.
They would focus on finding a “suitable political solution” to the crisis that would be “accepted by Sudan”, rather than imposed from the outside.