Sudan stepped back Saturday from rejecting a U.N. Security Council resolution demanding it disarm Arab militias responsible for atrocities in Darfur, as France deployed troops and aid along Chad's border with Sudan to help hundreds of thousands of Darfur refugees.
Foreign Minister Mustafa Osman Ismail said the resolution passed a day earlier did not go beyond commitments Sudan already made in early July to U.N. chief Kofi Annan to rein in the militias. "If we look closely at this matter, we will find out that there is no reason to reject the resolution as it doesn't contain anything new, anything other than what already has been signed on in the agreement with the United Nations," Ismail told reporters. The resolution gives the Sudanese government 30 days to act against the militias, known as the Janjaweed. International and humanitarian officials say Sudan has failed to honor its pledges to crack down on the Janjaweed.
| So they gave 'em another month... |
After the Security Council passed the resolution, Sudanese Information Minister El-Zahawi Ibrahim Malik said his country rejected the resolution, which "does not conform with the agreements signed between the government and the United Nations." Asked about Malik's statement, Ismail said: "The Cabinet is the only body charged with responding to the resolution."
| "Don't pay no attention to him. His turban's too tight..." |
After a Cabinet meeting on Sunday, the government will issue its definitive response, he said. |