Solana arrives in Sudan for talks on Darfur crisis
KHARTOUM, Oct 23 (AFP) — European Union foreign policy chief Javier Solana flew into the Sudanese capital on Saturday where he was expected to discuss the conflict in Darfur, amid international pressure on Khartoum over the rebellion there.
Solana arrived from Addis Ababa, where he had announced that the EU and its member states would finance over half the cost of a boosted African Union (AU) contingent due to monitor a shaky truce in Darfur.
In Khartoum, Solana is to hold talks with President Omar al-Beshir and Foreign Minister Mustafa Osman Ismail before leaving on Sunday.
The EU official was welcomed at Khartoum airport by Al-Tigani Al-Saleh Fedil, an aide of the minister.
Solana told the official SUNA news agency he wanted to see the situation on the ground in Darfur and to “know what efforts the Sudanese government is exerting to resolve the conflict.”
Fedil, whose government has been in the line of international fire over Darfur, said Sudan welcomed international cooperation in helping to resolve the Darfur crisis and other issues.
Dutch Foreign Minister Bernard Bot, whose country currently holds the EU’s rotating presidency, issued a stark warning to Beshir during a visit to Sudan two weeks ago.
He reiterated the threat of UN sanctions on the country’s vital oil industry if Khartoum failed to rein in its marauding proxy militias, accused of repeated atrocities in Darfur, including massacres and mass rape.
Solana’s visit comes after a mini-summit of Sudan’s neighbours in Tripoli last week aimed at finding a solution to the 20-month-old conflict in the western Darfur region, in which tens of thousands of people have died and close to 1.5 million been displaced.
AU-sponsored talks between Khartoum envoys and the two main Darfur rebel movements also kicked off in Nigeria on Friday.
The international community is demanding Khartoum crack down on its militias, provide security for civilians in Darfur and assist the humanitarian effort there.
The UN’s top envoy to Sudan is due to draft recommendations to the Security Council at the end of the month having recently stressed that not enough progress has been made.
This week the AU announced it was set to boost the number of truce-monitoring troops in Darfur from 465 to 3,320, the first of which are due to arrive Monday.
“Given the situation in Darfur, this mission has to be a success. The African Union is going to be a success with the cooperation of the international community,” Solana said in Ethiopia.
On Saturday, the official Sudanese Media Centre reported deadly clashes between Sudanese government troops and Darfur rebels over the past two days.
A statement said rebels launched three attacks on troops stationed in the North Darfur town of Al-Liait Jar al-Nabi.
The SMC said government troops repelled the attacks and inflicted heavy losses on the rebels but did not provide any further details.
As the international community turned up the heat on Khartoum for its responsibility in the Darfur crisis, Beshir was attempting to foster domestic alliances with major opposition parties.
Reconciliation talks continued for the second day in Cairo Saturday between the government and an umbrella organisation of major opposition parties.