Sudan refuses SA visit

PRETORIA – A visit by top-ranking defence force officers to Sudan as part of a goodwill visit to South African troops deployed beyond the country’s borders had to be cancelled after the group was refused entry into Sudan.

The group, including several generals and other high-ranking officers, was told yesterday that they would now only get to visit troops deployed in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Burundi. The official reason given was that the airport at El Fasher was busy handling troop rotations of Ghanaian troops and was unable to accommodate the SA flight.However, it was reported that the Sudanese only wanted to grant visas to a small component of the group and demanded that those visas only be issued in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.There were more than 500 SA soldiers deployed in Sudan as part of the African Union (AU) peacekeeping operation in the troubled Darfur region.Most were based in El Fasher and surrounding towns.Last week, the United Nations withdrew all its non-essential personnel from El Fasher as the situation in and around the town became very volatile.Rebels had threatened to attack AU peacekeepers based in Sudan.Recently, the SA government expressed concern about the mandate of the AU forces in Sudan, which limited the use of force when attacked.The group of SA officers was scheduled to leave for the DRC later yesterday morning.SapaThe official reason given was that the airport at El Fasher was busy handling troop rotations of Ghanaian troops and was unable to accommodate the SA flight.However, it was reported that the Sudanese only wanted to grant visas to a small component of the group and demanded that those visas only be issued in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.There were more than 500 SA soldiers deployed in Sudan as part of the African Union (AU) peacekeeping operation in the troubled Darfur region.Most were based in El Fasher and surrounding towns.Last week, the United Nations withdrew all its non-essential personnel from El Fasher as the situation in and around the town became very volatile.Rebels had threatened to attack AU peacekeepers based in Sudan.Recently, the SA government expressed concern about the mandate of the AU forces in Sudan, which limited the use of force when attacked.The group of SA officers was scheduled to leave for the DRC later yesterday morning.Sapa