UK threatens Sudan with Isolation on Darfur
Sudan-UK, Politics, 10/31/2006

UK Prime Minister Tony Blair Tuesday told the visiting Sudanese first vice president that his country has "one final chance" to stop the Darfur crisis.

General Salva Mayadit and his delegation was left "in no doubt at all" that a failure to stop the violence would leave it isolated internationally, the prime minister's spokesman said.

Blair and his International Development Secretary Hilary Benn held talks with Mayadit in London ahead of fresh UN talks and an Africa Union meeting next month that is being seen as a final deadline for Sudan.

The spokesman said that the British premier repeated his call that Sudan impose a ceasefire, engage in a political dialogue and accept a UN peacekeeping force.

This comes as US President George W. Bush calls for a “credible and effective international force” to be sent to Darfur and says the government of Sudan must understand that the United States is “earnest and serious” when calling for Khartoum to work with the international community. Speaking with U.S. Special Envoy to Sudan Andrew Natsios at the White House, Bush says the United States will work with its global partners to “come up with a single plan.

The UN Security Council last month passed a resolution that would have UN peacekeepers replace the African Union troops, with the consent of Sudan, but Khartoum has balked, saying it will not allow such a move, variously calling it re-colonization or occupation.

It is estimated that more than 200,000 people have been killed and 2.5 million driven from their homes to live in camps in Sudan and across the border in Chad since the start of fighting in Darfur in 2003.

Previous Stories:
  Sudan expel UN Envoy   (10/23/2006)
  UN snapshot: insecurity still plagues Darfur   (10/12/2006)
  Sudan response to help for African Union mission in Darfur   (10/6/2006)
  Arab Affairs Committee denounces US-British stance on Darfur   (9/5/2006)

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