Agence France-Presse KHARTOUM: Sudan continues to oppose deployment of a United Nations peacekeeping force to war-torn Darfur but is open to discussing UN support for an African Union force already there, an official said Tuesday. The Sudanese government is sticking to its position of rejecting UN Security Council Resolution 1706 but does not reject dialogue with the UN because the Sudan is a member of the organization, said presidential press Secretary Mahjub Fadul Bedry. The Sudanese government has come under mounting pressure to agree to the deployment of up to 20,000 UN peacekeepers as mandated by Resolution 1706 to replace weak, underfunded African Union (AU) troops, but President Omar Al-Bashir has repeatedly rejected any such deployment. Bedry was speaking after a meeting in Khartoum of Bashir with Arab League Secretary General Amr Moussa and Foreign Minister Lam Akol, during which Akol handed Bashir a message from UN Secretary General Kofi Annan. He said Annan s message contained a plan for backing African Union forces in Darfur with logistics, equipment and consultative expertise. The Khartoum government, Bedry said, is seeking a way out of the crisis the UN put itself in with the Sudan. He added: We support any effort that can assist the African mission in carrying out its duties of keeping peace and sponsoring the Abuja agreement. That was a reference to a peace deal signed between Khartoum and one of the rebel groups in Darfur. Bedry described Annan s message as good, adding that Bashir would respond positively. Bedry said Moussa had pledged to continue efforts for rallying support to the African Union and its forces. The Bashir-Moussa meeting centered on improving the situation in Darfur and reinforcing the AU mission with Arab-African forces in addition to UN logistical and material support. He explained that those reinforcements should hail from Arab countries in Africa. Moussa arrived in Khartoum late Monday. Earlier Tuesday he conferred with Akol on the developments in the Darfur crisis. The talks also covered the Arab position towards the current issues as well as the Arab League programs and meetings as the Sudan is the president of the current Arab summit, Moussa said after his meeting with Akol. President Bashir is planning to launch a comprehensive initiative in the coming period for reactivating cooperation with the United Nations and the African Union for implementation and expansion of the Abuja umbrella, he said. Commenting on a suggestion for deploying Arab-Muslim troops in Darfur, Moussa said: It is left to the Sudan to decide on whether to accept or turn down this proposal. He said his visit to Sudan came as part of an Arab diplomatic drive for dealing with the international position toward the situation in Darfur and finding a way out of the problem which is aggravated by time due to the erroneous information reported about it. The Arab League Secretary General reiterated his commitment to absolute cooperation between the Arab League and the African Union for finding a comprehensive settlement to the Darfur issue and achieving stability in the region. Since the war broke out in February 2003, at least 200,000 people have died from the combined effects of fighting, famine and disease, according to the United Nations. Some sources say the toll is much higher.
