Washington faces opposition at the UN Security Council, Khartoum warns against repeating the Iraqi crisis

Khartoum warned Washington yesterday from provoking a crisis similar to that in Iraq because of the war in Darfur, stressing that the US threats to impose sanctions on it will only lead to escalating the situation.

The Sudanese foreign minister Mustafa Othman Ismael warned, in an interview published yesterday by the Sudanese daily " al-Rai al-Am", " those voices which dragged the world to the Iraq war not to enter once again a new war that it is difficult to get out of it." He said that the calls made by Washington to the UN Security Council to think of imposing sanctions on his country " are in contradiction with issues on the ground and weaken the efforts of the government and the African federation.."

He added that these threats " might complicate the relations between Sudan and the UN and the credibility of the agreement which were signed and their inks have not dried yet, either with the UN Secretary General Kofi Annan or the US secretary of state Colin Powell.

Meantime, Diplomats at the UN said that Washington is facing strong opposition from members at the UN Security Council in its efforts to impose sanctions at Jangaweid militias. Each of China, Russia, Pakistan, Algeria, al-Brazil and other countries members in the council expressed their concern over any embargo during an initial meeting over the American draft resolution, considering that having Khartoum's cooperation will be more useful than imposing sanctions on it.