Egypt to host tri-party summit on Darfur crisis

SHARM EL-SHEIKH, Egypt, Apr 18, 2005 (Xinhua) — Leaders from Egypt, Sudan and Ethiopia will discuss the crisis in Sudan’s western Darfur region on Tuesday, a Sudanese official told Xinhua Monday.

Newly arrived refugees at the Touloum camp – driven out of their homes by armed raids near the border town of Tiné. (WFP).

Egypt originally sponsored a six-way summit on the Darfur crisis on the sidelines of the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD) summit to be held at the Egyptian Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh Tuesday, but the meeting was cancelled as some leaders said they were unable to show up.

“Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, Sudanese President Omar al- Bashir and Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi will hold a tri- party summit on the sidelines of the NEPAD summit on Tuesday morning,” the official said on condition of anonymity.

The summit is aimed to help Sudan deal with the UN Security Council resolution 1593 adopted last month to refer war crime suspects in Darfur to the International Criminal Court(ICC) in the Hague, the source added.

The Sudanese government has officially rejected the resolution 1593 as violation of its sovereignty.

The Darfur conflict erupted in February 2003 when rebels from the Sudan Liberation Army and the Movement of Equality and Justice took up arms against the government.

Clashes between the rebels and government forces and pro- government militias have created what the United Nations called the worst humanitarian crisis in the world.

Heads of state and government or their representatives from about 30 African countries are to meet Tuesday to discuss the progress on NEPAD, a plan launched four years ago to revitalize Africa’s economy.