Sudan says no to UN forces
2006-06-12 08:13
Khartoum - Sudan renewed its opposition to the deployment of international forces in Darfur and denied giving the African Union the green light to hand over its mandate to the United Nations.
Presidential adviser Majzoub al-Khalifa Ahmed said: "We have expressed our opposition to deployment in Darfur of international forces.
"We have made it clear to the UN mission that we have not ordered the AU to hand the mandate it has been accorded over to any other authority, and that the Darfur Peace Agreement (DPA) has not provided for a UN role."
The UN was planning to deploy a robust peacekeeping force in Darfur by the end of the year or the beginning of 2007 to take over from cash-strapped and poorly equipped AU troops monitoring a shaky truce in the region.
Civil war claims 300 000
But, Sudan remained opposed to such a UN deployment. Foreign ministry officials said that priority ought to be placed on reinforcing the AU's capabilities, a view reiterated on Sunday by Ahmed.
He said: "We have emphasised that the main UN role was to help the AU to carry out its mission in Darfur."
Civil war and a humanitarian crisis in Darfur had left 180 000 to 300 000 people dead and 2.4 million people displaced since February 2003.
On May 2005, a major faction of the main Darfur rebel group, the Sudan Liberation Movement (SLM), signed a peace agreement with Khartoum.
But, the AU-sponsored deal, signed in the Nigerian capital, Abuja, was rejected by a smaller SLM faction and the rebel Justice and Equality Movement.
Door to dialogue 'open'
Ahmed, who led the Sudanese side in the Abuja talks, said there would be no appendices to the DPA to make room for those who had not yet signed.
He said: "There will be no new appendix to the agreement... this is our position and the position of the international community as well."
However, he also said that the door to dialogue would not be closed to those who had rejected the agreement: "We persuade them to catch up with the peace march."
Ahmed warned: "Those who are opposed to the peace agreement should understand that any armed act for undermining the agreement will not be accepted."
The UN-AU team was split into two groups - a political one that would remain in Khartoum until Tuesday for talks with government officials and a technical one that on Sunday began a tour of Darfur region.
It was reported that the technical team was due to hold talks on Monday with senior officers from the government's armed forces in Darfur before it was rejoined by the political delegation on Tuesday.