News Article by DPA posted on August 23, 2006
New York (dpa) - Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir on Wednesday declined an invitation to attend a UN Security Council next week to explain his plan to deploy more than 10,000 Sudanese troops to Darfur instead of a UN peacekeeping operation.
The Khartoum government had been asked by council president, Ghana Ambassador Nana Effah-Apenteng, to send a delegation to the meeting on Monday. He also invited the Arab League, the Organization of Islamic Conference and African Union to the same meeting.
Al-Bashir said such a meeting was welcome to consolidate the peace process in Darfur.
But he added, "In view of having a fruitful discussion of the council on the matter, with the effective participation of regional organizations strongly engaged in the situation in Darfur, we deem it appropriate to postpone the meeting to enable better preparations."
There was no immediate response from Effah-Apenteng as the council had no formal meeting on Wednesday. The three organizations invited did not respond.
Khartoum was reported to want to deploy its own peacekeepers rather than accept a UN peacekeeping mission from the 15-nation council. The latter was discussing a draft resolution to transfer the current AU peacekeeping mission in Darfur to the UN later this year.
The AU, handicapped by lack of finance resources and logistical means, had decided to pull its 7,000 troops out of Darfur by year's end.
Efforts by the council to shore up the peace process in Darfur appeared shaky as the UN reported increasing fighting between rebel groups despite the peace accords signed on May 5 in Abuja, Nigeria.
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