Annan discusses with African leaders over Darfur

A spokeswoman for the government of Nigeria said that the UN secretary general Kofi Annan will hold talks next Thursday with the President of Nigeria and other African leaders over the situation in Darfur to the west of Sudan.

The spokeswoman said that Nigeria's President had arranged the talks which will be held in Ghana Akra in his capacity as a chairman for the African federation. The African federation hopes to send forces of 270 soldiers to protect 60 African federation observers following up the cease fire in Darfur by the end of July but the plan stumbled because of the uncertain role of the forces.

For his part, the Libyan foreign minister Abdul Rahman Shalqam announced that his country apposes any non- African military presence in the Sudanese Darfur area.

In a press conference he held in Tripoli Shalqam said that " the question of Darfur is very serious " criticizing what he described the escalation in the American and western media address towards this case.

He added that the pivotal role in Darfur crisis should be for the African federation, noting that Libya is ready to take part in African monitoring forces and is also ready to protect these forces.

Meantime, the Libyan leader Muammar al-Qathafi called on Sudan to supervise the peace talks in Darfur. The Egyptian foreign minister Ahmad al-Gheit said during his short visit to Libya that he had discussed with al-Qathafi " the situation in Africa, especially in Darfur area."