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| East/Subsaharan Africa |
| Sudan asks Egypt to back unity despite peace deal |
| 2002-07-26 |
| A Sudanese minister called on neighbouring Egypt on Friday to help preserve Sudan's unity, despite a peace deal which offers the south the option of breaking away through a future referendum. Sudanese Agriculture and Forests Minister Mazjoub al-Khalifa Ahmed said Egypt, which will join the next round of peace talks, had an interest in preserving the unity of Africa's largest country after 19 years of civil war. "The points of view between Egypt and Sudan are consistent on Sudan's unity. Egypt must stand with us to face this challenge," Ahmed told reporters in Cairo where he arrived for a meeting on Sunday of a top Egyptian-Sudanese committee. They can "support" unity all they want, but if Sudan breaks apart because one bunch can't get along with the other, they'll have to "support" that, as well. I think all they're going to get out of Egypt is a bit of prestige. I suspect southern Sudan will one day become something similar to Eritrea. |
| Posted by:Fred Pruitt |