Annan: US seeks to rebuke Sudan

2006-10-06 08:48

New York - United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan said on Thursday that Darfur was close to a catastrophe, as the United States sought to rebuke Sudan for trying to scare off potential UN troop contributors.

Annan, in his monthly report on Sudan's vast Darfur region, said violence, rape and insecurity were on the rise, despite a peace agreement between the government and one rebel group.

He wrote: "The region is again on the brink of a catastrophic situation."

Fighting among armed rebels, militia and bandits had continued, despite the Khartoum government's decision to send more troops to Darfur.

Khartoum had refused a UN takeover of the cash-strapped and struggling African Union force in Darfur.

UN deploys troops

Annan said: "Unless security improves, the world is facing the prospect of having to drastically curtail an acutely needed humanitarian operation."

The US demanded that the security council respond to Sudan's warning that any nation pledging UN troops for Darfur was committing a "hostile act" and a "prelude to an invasion".

The warning came in an unsigned letter on Thursday from Sudan's UN mission to dozens of countries, many of whom attended a meeting on September 25 on potential pledges of troops to a UN force in Darfur.

The letter said: "In the absence of Sudan's consent to the deployment of UN troops, any volunteering to provide peacekeeping troops to Darfur will be considered as a hostile act, a prelude to an invasion of a member country of the UN."

In response, US ambassador John Bolton circulated a draft statement that security council members would consider on Friday.

Al-Bashir welcomes UN logistics

It said the council "deplores" the Sudan mission's attempt "to intimidate potential troop contributing countries volunteering forces for a peacekeeping mission in Darfur".

"This aggressive gesture by Sudan directed at fellow member states challenges the will of the security council," which had authorised up to 22 500 troops and police for Darfur, and "is unacceptable behaviour by a member state of the UN."

Bolton noted that the diplomatic note was inconsistent with a polite letter Sudan's President Omar Hassan al-Bashir wrote to Annan this week welcoming UN logistics and other support to the AU mission in Darfur.

The AU's under-financed 7 000 troops and monitors had been unable to stop the violence that had driven 2.5 million people from their homes and left at least 200 000 dead since 2003.

For the security council to adopt Bolton's statement, agreement was needed from all 15 members and Qatar, the only Arab delegation on the council, had consistently backed Khartoum.

Greece's UN ambassador Adamantios Vassilakis, said he had also received the letter. Vassilakis said: "For me, what is important is how we find a solution to save lives. That is the most important thing."

- Reuters