Blogger News Network

July 2, 2006

The Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir has rejected the U.N.'s offer of up to 17,000 troops to stem the continuing crisis within the country.

Bashir met Kofi Annan today at the 7th African Union Summit being held in the Gambian capital Banjul. In a speech to delegates from across the continent, Mr. Annan, who was born in Ghana, labeled the Darfur crisis as "one of the worst nightmares in recent history". But Mr. Bashir said he was concerned that a UN mandate would be seen as a "western invasion" which would attract militants and create a situation similar to Iraq.

Kofi Annan did say though that he hoped dialogue would continue on the issue. The current African Union force of 7,000 has struggled to maintain order in a country with over 2.5 million displaced citizens. There have also been accusations of rape by AU soldiers inside camps.

In his speech (viewable here) Mr Annan did praise the progress in development across the continent since 1997 but, he said:

"Despite elections, many Governments continue to suppress opposition parties and a free press. Many continue to exclude certain groups from participation in public life. Many continue to practise or tolerate large scale corruption."

This will be Kofi Annan's final speech to the AU as Secretary-General.

Also at the summit, Hissene Habre, Chad's leader until 1990, will face trial in Senegal, the Senegalese president Abdoulaye Wade announced today.

The former leader is under arrest for human rights abuses during his reign, including 200,000 counts of torture. There has been much wrangling as to who should try the former leader. Belgium initially stepped in to hold the trial, but Mr. Wade agreed with the African Union that "Africans must be judged in Africa."

Former president Habre ruled [w:Chad | Chad] for eight years before being removed in an uprising by current president Idriss Deby.

Sources

• Barry Moody and Daniel Flynn "Annan fails to persuade Sudan to accept UN force". Reuters, 2nd July 2006

• Kofi Annan "Banjul, The Gambia, 1 July 2006 - The Secretary-General's address to the African Union Summit". The United Nations, 1st July 2006

• "Annan laments Darfur 'Nightmare'". BBC News Online, 2nd July 2006

• "Senegal Trial for Ex-Chad Leader". BBC News Online, 2nd July 2006[[category:Politics and Conflicts