Sudanese President Omar al-Beshir on Thursday repeated his refusal to allow United Nations peacekeepers into the war-torn Darfur region, saying such a move would be an “occupation”.
“We shall not allow international forces to enter Darfur,” al-Beshir said in a speech to mark the anniversary of his coming to power in a coup in 1989.
“I prefer being a leader of resistance in Darfur to being a president of an occupied country,” he said on the eve of travelling to Gambia for an African Union summit aimed at softening Khartoum’s stance on UN troops in Darfur.
The AU has agreed to hand over its current 7 000-strong Darfur force to the UN due to financial shortfalls, but Khartoum has steadfastly opposed the move, insisting that it reeks of neo-colonialism and would worsen conflict.
Al-Beshir said on Sunday his forces could take over if the AU abandoned or relinquished its current mandate, thereby casting a dark shadow on international efforts to pacify Darfur, a region the size of France undergoing one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises.
Al-Beshir’s stiffening opposition came amid high tensions with the UN, which Khartoum accused of breaching its mandate by transporting a rebel leader out of Darfur.
Although a ban on UN operations in Darfur has been lifted, the Sudanese government made it clear that it was keenly watching. — AFP