Sudanese President Meets With US Diplomat to Discuss Darfur
29 August 2006
Sudan's President Omar al-Bashir has met with a visiting U.S. diplomat who is seeking approval for a United Nations peacekeeping force in Darfur.
U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs Jendayi Frazer extended her stay in Khartoum after the president refused to meet her for several days, citing a busy schedule.
Mr. Bashir finally met with Frazer Tuesday. The State Department says Frazer delivered a message from President Bush and stressed that the United States wants the African Union force in Darfur to be strengthened and put under U.N. control.
The State Department says Mr. Bashir promised to send an envoy to Washington with his reply.
Earlier, Sudan's official news agency cited the president as affirming Sudan's rejection of international forces in war-torn Darfur.
On Monday, Sudan refused to participate in a meeting of the U.N. Security Council where members discussed a draft resolution to send thousands of troops to Darfur. Under that plan, U.N. troops would enter Darfur and take over peacekeeping duties from an African Union force that has not been able to stop rampant violence in the western Sudanese region.
The Sudanese government has equated any U.N. presence in Darfur to a foreign invasion. It has said it will deploy more of its own troops to Darfur in a bid to increase security. The United States has expressed concern about that plan, saying people in Darfur do not trust the Sudanese forces.
Over three years of fighting between government forces, rebels and various militias in Darfur has killed an estimated 200,000 people, and driven 2 million others from their homes.
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