African leaders discuss Sudan

2004-07-28 22:20

Pretoria - The heads of African states meeting in Akkra, Ghana, on Thursday, which President Thabo Mbeki will be attending, has been expanded to include discussion on the trouble in the Ivory Coast as well as in Darfur, Sudan, the French foreign minister has said in Pretoria on Wednesday.

Michel Barnier, after visiting Mbeki during a whistle stop tour of South Africa and other African countries, said the real worry in the Darfur region was not so much what had happened but of the humanitarian crises than might occur.

France, unwillingly, has agreed to go ahead with a European Union resolution to implement sanctions against Sudan, but Barnier said on Wednesday that it should only be seen as the last resort.

"The threat of sanctions can be seen as a useful instrument but before we implement them I believe in the importance of pressure. The humanitarian crises won't be solved without Sudan," he said, explaining that the problems in Darfur could only be solved if all role-players worked together, especially Sudan.

He said that whatever resolution was adopted had to be effective.

The United Nations Security Council is due to meet in New York on Wednesday to discuss a resolution that threatens sanctions against Khartoum and slaps an arms embargo on insurgents and militias in Darfur.

An estimated 50 000 people have been killed in the fighting since February 2003 and 1.2 million have been left homeless, according to UN officials.

While discussing the issue with Chadian president Idriss Deby on Tuesday night before his arrival in South Africa, Barnier said he was made aware of the Darfur impact on Chadian residents.

"As a result of the sudden increased population, those who were there are having to share what little they had. This is something else we will have to take into consideration," he said.

- SAPA