CAIRO: Egypt urged Britain and the United States Wednesday to give Sudan more time before pushing forward a UN resolution calling for the deployment of UN peacekeepers in war-torn Darfur. Egypt is engaged in contacts to convince the parties that drafted the resolution of the need to give more time for negotiations with the Sudanese government … in order to avoid a confrontation with the Security Council, Foreign Minister Ahmed Abul-Gheit said in a statement. Britain on Tuesday circulated a revised draft resolution in the UN Security Council urging the deployment of UN troops in Sudan s Darfur region, hoping to put it to a vote by Thursday. The text calls for a 17,000-strong UN force to take over from the ill-equipped and under-funded African Union (AU) mission, which has been unable to prevent killings, rape and the internal displacement of civilians in Darfur. It stresses that such a deployment should only be considered with the consent of the Sudanese government, which has been consistently and firmly opposed to UN peacekeepers taking security responsibility for Darfur. It is time for action. It is time for this Council to uphold its responsibility and pass a resolution immediately authorizing the deployment of UN forces, U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations John Bolton had told the council on Monday. U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs Jendayi Frazer wrapped up a visit to Sudan Tuesday during which she got a chilly welcome and obtained little evidence that the government might be inclined to soften its stance. We are not advocates of confrontation with the world, but we shall never accept the transition of the AU mandate to any organization, and we shall never agree to the AU troops changing their hats from (AU) green to (UN) blue, President Omar Al-Bashir said Tuesday. The combined effect of war and famine has left up to 300,000 people dead in Darfur and displaced 2.5 million in three and half years. AFP
Egypt asks UN to give Sudan more time on peacekeepers
