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African
Summit Rejects Foreign Intervention in Darfur
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“The
summit sent a message to the international community affirming
that Africa can assume all its responsibilities,” said Ismail
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TRIPOLI,
October 18 (IslamOnline.net & News Agencies) - An African summit
meeting wound up here overnight with a joint statement rejecting any
“foreign intervention” in the crisis-torn Sudanese region of
Darfur.
The
five African leaders of Libya, Sudan, Egypt, Nigeria and Chad further
voiced strong support for the Sudanese government which is threatened
with international sanctions over the situation in the restive region,
reported Agence France-Presse (AFP).
“The
summiteers stressed their rejection of any foreign intervention in
this purely African question,” read the summit’s joint communique.
They
said any interference in Sudan’s internal affairs would only hinder
the efforts to stabilize the country.
The
fighting in Darfur erupted in February last year when rebels from
minority tribes took up arms to demand an equal share of national
development.
The
United Nations called the crisis the world’s worst humanitarian
disaster that left some 50,000 people dead and around 3.4 million more
homeless, of whom 200,000 have sought refuge in Chad.
On
Friday, October 15, World Health Organization official David Nabarro
estimated that 70,000 people had died of disease and malnutrition in
Darfur since March.
But
Khartoum was quick to insist that the number could not be more than
7,000.
Appeal
to Rebels
The
five leaders also urged rebel groups in Darfur to sign a humanitarian
protocol drawn up with the Sudanese government, at the next
negotiating session scheduled for Thursday, October 21, in Abuja,
according to the meeting’s joint communique.
The
final statement said that the foreign ministers of the five countries
involved would meet regularly to discuss Darfur, with the first
meeting to be held in Cairo.
Olu
Adeniji, the Foreign Minister of Nigeria, which currently chairs the
African Union, said the summit “favorably accepted the decision of
the Sudanese government to sensibly increase the number of AU troops
in Darfur and appealed to all African nations to contribute to this
force.”
Sudanese
Foreign Minister Mustafa Ismail declared himself happy with the
results of the summit saying it “sent a message to the international
community affirming that Africa can assume all its responsibilities
and refuses all international intervention”.
Egyptian
presidency spokesman Magued Abdel Fattah echoed that the international
community was being asked “to provide Sudan with assistance to allow
it to fulfill its obligations under UN resolutions (on Darfur) rather
than putting pressure on it and issuing threats”.
Last
month, the UN Security Council adopted
a US-drafted resolution threatening Sudan with oil sanctions if it
failed to restore order in Darfur.
The
international community is insisting that Khartoum disarm the
pro-governmental militias Janjaweed accused by the West of much of the
atrocities in Darfur.
International
aid workers in Darfur told Britain’s The Observe earlier in
the month that the US administration was making too much fuss about
the humanitarian crisis in Darfur as it tirelessly seeks a
regime change in Khartoum.
Influential
leaders of the US evangelical organizations had signed a letter asking
Bush to consider a
military action
against Sudan.
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