An African summit meeting wound up in Libya on Sunday night with a joint statement rejecting any "foreign intervention" in the crisis-torn Sudanese region of Darfur and voicing strong support for the Sudanese government which is threatened with international sanctions over the situation.
The five African leaders involved, including Sudanese President Omar al-Beshir, 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 in Abuja, according to the meeting's joint communique.
The summiteers, the leaders of Libya, Sudan, Egypt, Nigeria and Chad, stressed their "rejection of all foreign intervention in this purely African question."
The meeting also rejected any intervention into the interior affairs of Sudan "which would only hinder the efforts to stabilize the country."
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 African Union troops in Darfur and appealed to all African nations to contribute to this force."
He said talks were underway with the US and the EU to provide logistic and financial aid to the pan-African force.
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 rebellion prompted a bloody crackdown on civilian population by regular troops and allied militia called Janjaweed, thereby spawning what the UN has described as the world's worst humanitarian disaster.
The crisis has left some 50,000 people dead, according to the UN, and around 3.4 million more homeless, of whom 200,000 have sought refuge in Chad.
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 fulfil its obligations under UN resolutions [on Darfur] rather than putting pressure on it and issuing threats."
Last month, the UN Security Council adopted a 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 which are terrorizing the local population.
On Friday World Health Organization official David Nabarro estimated that 70,000 people had died of disease and malnutrition in Darfur since March.
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.
SEEKING CHANGE: A hospital worker said she did not vote in previous elections, but ‘now I can see that maybe my vote can change the system and the country’ Voting closed yesterday across the Solomon Islands in the south Pacific nation’s first general election since the government switched diplomatic allegiance from Taiwan to Beijing and struck a secret security pact that has raised fears of the Chinese navy gaining a foothold in the region. The Solomon Islands’ closer relationship with China and a troubled domestic economy weighed on voters’ minds as they cast their ballots. As many as 420,000 registered voters had their say across 50 national seats. For the first time, the national vote also coincided with elections for eight of the 10 local governments. Esther Maeluma cast her vote in the
Nearly half of China’s major cities are suffering “moderate to severe” levels of subsidence, putting millions of people at risk of flooding, especially as sea levels rise, according to a study of nationwide satellite data released yesterday. The authors of the paper, published by the journal Science, found that 45 percent of China’s urban land was sinking faster than 3mm per year, with 16 percent at more than 10mm per year, driven not only by declining water tables, but also the sheer weight of the built environment. With China’s urban population already in excess of 900 million people, “even a small portion
UNSETTLING IMAGES: The scene took place in front of TV crews covering the Trump trial, with a CNN anchor calling it an ‘emotional and unbelievably disturbing moment’ A man who doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire outside the courthouse where former US president Donald Trump is on trial has died, police said yesterday. The New York City Police Department (NYPD) said the man was declared dead by staff at an area hospital. The man was in Collect Pond Park at about 1:30pm on Friday when he took out pamphlets espousing conspiracy theories, tossed them around, then doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire, officials and witnesses said. A large number of police officers were nearby when it happened. Some officers and bystanders rushed
HYPOCRISY? The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday asked whether Biden was talking about China or the US when he used the word ‘xenophobic’ US President Joe Biden on Wednesday called for a hike in steel tariffs on China, accusing Beijing of cheating as he spoke at a campaign event in Pennsylvania. Biden accused China of xenophobia, too, in a speech to union members in Pittsburgh. “They’re not competing, they’re cheating. They’re cheating and we’ve seen the damage here in America,” Biden said. Chinese steel companies “don’t need to worry about making a profit because the Chinese government is subsidizing them so heavily,” he said. Biden said he had called for the US Trade Representative to triple the tariff rates for Chinese steel and aluminum if Beijing was