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.