Sudan’s army calls UN resolution ‘declaration of war’

KHARTOUM – Sudan’s army has vowed to fight any foreign military intervention in Darfur, even after the government reluctantly accepted a UN demand to end the killing and atrocities in the troubled region within 30 days.

“The Security Council resolution about the Darfur issue is a declaration of war on the Sudan and its people,” armed forces spokesmanm, General Mohamed Beshir Suleiman, told yesterday’s official Al Anbaa daily. “The Sudanese army is now prepared to confront the enemies of the Sudan on land, sea and air,” he said.The general’s warning came following the Security Council’s decision to pass a watered-down resolution Friday threatening “international measures” against Sudan if it did not rein in its troops and allies in the Janjaweed militia blamed for much of the slaughter in the western area of Africa’s largest country.The resolution, which avoided the term “sanctions”, made no mention of possible use of force , although foreign officials have spoken of sending troops to Darfur to try to force an end to the crisis.The African Union has said it may transform a planned protection force into a “full-fledged peacekeeping mission” to force the Janjaweed to lay down its arms in line with a ceasefire deal.The pan-African body already has plans to send some 300 troops to Darfur to protect its team of observers and monitors overseeing the implementation of a shaky ceasefire deal between the militia and rebel groups.The United Nations estimates that up to 50 000 people have been killed in Darfur and more than a million have fled their homes, 200 000 of them seeking refuge in neighbouring Chad.Nigerian president Olusegun Obasanjo, current chairman of the African Union, arrived in Khartoum late on Sunday and went straight into closed-door talks with his counterpart Omar al-Beshir.At the weekend, French forces in Chad began flying relief supplies to the border town of Abeche and prepared to send 200 troops to secure Chad’s eastern frontier with Darfur, according to army colonel Philippe Charles.However, the French action stopped short of entering Sudanese territory.- Nampa-AFP”The Sudanese army is now prepared to confront the enemies of the Sudan on land, sea and air,” he said.The general’s warning came following the Security Council’s decision to pass a watered-down resolution Friday threatening “international measures” against Sudan if it did not rein in its troops and allies in the Janjaweed militia blamed for much of the slaughter in the western area of Africa’s largest country.The resolution, which avoided the term “sanctions”, made no mention of possible use of force , although foreign officials have spoken of sending troops to Darfur to try to force an end to the crisis.The African Union has said it may transform a planned protection force into a “full-fledged peacekeeping mission” to force the Janjaweed to lay down its arms in line with a ceasefire deal.The pan-African body already has plans to send some 300 troops to Darfur to protect its team of observers and monitors overseeing the implementation of a shaky ceasefire deal between the militia and rebel groups.The United Nations estimates that up to 50 000 people have been killed in Darfur and more than a million have fled their homes, 200 000 of them seeking refuge in neighbouring Chad.Nigerian president Olusegun Obasanjo, current chairman of the African Union, arrived in Khartoum late on Sunday and went straight into closed-door talks with his counterpart Omar al-Beshir.At the weekend, French forces in Chad began flying relief supplies to the border town of Abeche and prepared to send 200 troops to secure Chad’s eastern frontier with Darfur, according to army colonel Philippe Charles.However, the French action stopped short of entering Sudanese territory.- Nampa-AFP