The Sudanese government rejected on Sunday an allegation that it was paralyzing the deployment of a hybrid peacekeeping force of the United Nations and the African Union (AU) in the conflict-torn western region of Darfur.
"It is not in Sudan's interest to paralyze the hybrid operation," said Samani al-Wasila, the Sudanese minister of state for foreign affairs, at a press conference.
Reiterating his government's commitment to the decisions, the minister said the Sudanese government was against all the accusations based on misleading information.
"We have announced our full cooperation, and we are surprised by the attempts to blame us for the delay (of the hybrid operation)," al-Wasila said.
He noted that the basic problems which the hybrid operation was facing were "the problem of funding and a logistic gap especially the need for the helicopters."
Zalmay Khalilzad, U.S. ambassador to the UN, claimed on Monday that Khartoum was throwing up obstacles and failing to meet its commitments on the hybrid peacekeeping operation.
"If the Sudanese government fails to meet its obligations (the Security Council) should be willing to respond by increasing pressure and consider imposing sanctions," the U.S. diplomat said.
In an ongoing EU-Africa summit in Lisbon, Portugal, Sudan is reportedly under mounting pressure for the deployment of the hybrid force in Darfur.
European leaders including French President Nicolas Sarkozy and Portuguese Prime Minister Jose Socrates expressed their concerns about delays to Sudanese President Omer al-Bashir during their meetings on the sidelines of the summit.
Also in Lisbon, representatives of the Sudanese government and the United Nations met on Saturday to discuss priority actions required to accelerate the deployment of the hybrid force, according to a statement issued by the United Nations Mission in Sudan (UNMIS) on Sunday.
"Both delegations agreed on the importance of the full and timely implementation of Security Council Resolution 1769 and reiterated their commitment to working together to this end," the statement noted.
The two sides admitted that in some areas technical clarity was required to ensure that effective preparations for the deployment of the AU-UN Mission in Darfur (UNAMID) could continue, said the statement.
The Sudanese government had refused a proposed meeting between President al-Bashir and two special envoys of the UN Secretary General to Darfur during the EU-African summit.
Sudanese presidential advisor Mustafa Osman Ismail told reporters in Khartoum on Friday that the envoys could come directly to Khartoum and meet the concerned authorities.
According to Resolution 1769 adopted by the UN Security Council on July 31, a 26,000-strong hybrid peacekeeping force should be deployed in Darfur by the end of this year to replace the underfunded AU peacekeeping force already existing there.
Until now, less than 1,000 international peacekeepers have arrived in Darfur in the framework of the heavy support package, which constitutes a transitional step before the deployment of the hybrid peacekeeping force is completed.
Source:Xinhua
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