Egypt, Sudan, Ethiopia hold 3-way summit on Darfur

SHARM EL-SHEIKH, Egypt, Apr 19, 2005 (Xinhua) — Leaders from Egypt, Sudan and Ethiopia began a three-way summit on the crisis in Sudan’s western Darfur region on Tuesday at the Egyptian Red Sea resort of Sharm el Sheikh.

Vulnerable refugees waiting for emergency aid at the makeshift site in Djoran, eastern Chad. (file/UNHCR).

Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir and Ethiopia Prime Minister Meles Zenawi held talks on the Darfur conflict ahead of the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD) summit due to start later on Tuesday, the Egyptian presidential spokesman Soliman Awad said.

Egypt originally sponsored a six-way summit on the Darfur crisis, but the meeting was cancelled as some leaders said they were unable to show up.

The summit is said 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 Sudanese government has officially rejected the resolution, slamming it as violation of its sovereignty.

The Darfur conflict erupted in February 2003 when rebels took up arms against the government over scarce resources.

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 gathering at the Red Sea resort to discuss the progress on NEPAD, a plan launched four years ago to revitalize Africa’s economy.