Sudanese president leaves for Libya to attend Darfur summit

KHARTOUM, Oct 17, 2004 (Xinhua) — Sudanese President Omar Al-Bashir left here for Libya on Sunday to attend a mini African summit on the Darfur crisis.

The summit, which will group leaders of Sudan, Nigeria, Libya,Egypt and Chad, was called by Nigerian President and Chairman of the African Union (AU) Olusegun Obasanjo to discuss the Darfur issue.

Sudanese Foreign Minister Mustafa Othman Ismail said the summit will send a political signal to the international community that Africa wants to handle the file of Darfur by itself.

He noted in a press statement that the meeting is aimed at giving a political momentum for the negotiations between the Sudanese government and two rebel groups in Darfur.

He said the summit will discuss means to resolve the Darfur issue peacefully, to support the AU efforts and to avert foreign intervention in the Darfur crisis.

The summit would map out a comprehensive vision for solving the Darfur problem according to the agenda which has been agreed upon in previous negotiations in Abuja, the Nigerian capital, he added.

Meanwhile, he stressed that the summit is not an alternative to the Abuja talks but an attempt to remove obstacles on the agenda.

He pointed out that foreign ministers of the five participating countries will convene first to discuss the pending issues and then present a report to the summit which will be held in the evening.