Wonder if Kerry would be excited about getting into this humanitarian
snapshot oportunity?

Will it go like Bosnia or like Somalia, or something else?

Wee need to tie down more troops and make another front in the war on
terror!

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Sudan Rejects Foreign Military Intervention
Alisha Ryu
Nairobi
26 Jul 2004, 16:09 UTC
Email this article to a friend Printer Friendly Version

Sudanese government officials are warning that the country will resist
attempts to deploy Western peacekeepers in the war-torn Darfur region.
An Islamic militant group is calling for all Muslims to fight Western
forces if they are sent to intervene in what the United Nations says
is the world's worst humanitarian crisis.

Sudanese Foreign Minister Mustafa Ismail would not say whether
Sudanese forces would be ordered to attack Western peacekeepers if
they were deployed in Darfur.

But in a telephone interview with VOA, Mr. Ismail strongly hinted that
the government would not tolerate the presence of military forces that
are not part of an African Union-led monitoring team.

"The people of Sudan are against any foreign intervention. No nation
would accept foreign intervention in their affairs. Those who are
talking about foreign intervention, they do not know exactly what the
situation (is). We said that we do not need foreign intervention
because we have already African monitors," he says.

The foreign minister's remarks follow a far more blatant warning
Sunday from the secretary general of the ruling National Congress
Party, Ibrahim Ahmed Omar. In comments made to a state-run newspaper,
Mr. Omar promised that Sudan would not hesitate to use force against
any country that tries to intervene militarily in Darfur.

In recent days, Sudan is believed to have received the last of 12
MiG-29 fighter jets it had ordered from Russia. Although the deal was
signed three-years ago, the timing of the delivery - five-months ahead
of schedule - sparked deep concern about their potential use.

Human-rights groups say refugees in Darfur have testified that their
villages were bombed by Russian-made MiG jets belonging to the
Sudanese air force. Many activists fear the new jets may be used in a
renewed bombing campaign in Darfur. Sudan's threats against foreign
intervention in Darfur have also raised fear they could be used
against peacekeepers.

Sudanese Foreign Minister Ismail says the jets have been bought for
training purposes and ridicules what he calls false information being
spread by Darfur rebels to gain international sympathy.

But he acknowledges the MiGs could be used at any time to defend
national security.

"It is for training. We are not forbidden to train our pilots on
MiG-29s or even more sophisticated weapons, which is allowed by
international law. We are going to seek it. We are going to use it. We
should prepare ourselves. We cannot sit, doing nothing while reading
that there could be a threat to our national security," he says.

Meanwhile, an Islamic militant group calling itself Mohammed's Army
handed out leaflets to worshippers Sunday at a mosque in Khartoum,
calling on Sudanese Muslims to defend Darfur against, what the group
describes as, a crusader army from the United States and Britain.

Talk of possible Western military intervention in Darfur began in
earnest last week when Congress declared that the atrocities committed
there by local pro-Khartoum Janjaweed Arab militias against the
region's black African civilians were acts of genocide. Congressional
leaders called on the Bush administration to lead international
efforts to intervene.

On Saturday, Britain's top military commander said that five-thousand
British troops could be sent to western Sudan to help resolve the
nearly 16 month-old conflict. British Prime Minister Tony Blair says
it is too early to consider military intervention, but has not ruled
out sending peacekeepers.

The White House, the United Nations, and the European Union say they
will impose tough new sanctions on Sudan if Khartoum fails to disband
the Janjaweed militias.

Khartoum denies accusations that it has been arming and supporting the
Janjaweed. The government insists it is doing all it can to disarm the
militias and bring security to the region.

The United Nations says the crisis in Darfur is the worst humanitarian
disaster in the world. As many as 50-thousand people are reported to
have died and a million more displaced in Darfur and in neighboring
Chad.

Sudan Rejects Foreign Military Intervention
Alisha Ryu
Nairobi
26 Jul 2004, 16:09 UTC
Email this article to a friend Printer Friendly Version

Sudanese government officials are warning that the country will resist
attempts to deploy Western peacekeepers in the war-torn Darfur region.
An Islamic militant group is calling for all Muslims to fight Western
forces if they are sent to intervene in what the United Nations says
is the world's worst humanitarian crisis.

Sudanese Foreign Minister Mustafa Ismail would not say whether
Sudanese forces would be ordered to attack Western peacekeepers if
they were deployed in Darfur.

But in a telephone interview with VOA, Mr. Ismail strongly hinted that
the government would not tolerate the presence of military forces that
are not part of an African Union-led monitoring team.

"The people of Sudan are against any foreign intervention. No nation
would accept foreign intervention in their affairs. Those who are
talking about foreign intervention, they do not know exactly what the
situation (is). We said that we do not need foreign intervention
because we have already African monitors," he says.

The foreign minister's remarks follow a far more blatant warning
Sunday from the secretary general of the ruling National Congress
Party, Ibrahim Ahmed Omar. In comments made to a state-run newspaper,
Mr. Omar promised that Sudan would not hesitate to use force against
any country that tries to intervene militarily in Darfur.

In recent days, Sudan is believed to have received the last of 12
MiG-29 fighter jets it had ordered from Russia. Although the deal was
signed three-years ago, the timing of the delivery - five-months ahead
of schedule - sparked deep concern about their potential use.

Human-rights groups say refugees in Darfur have testified that their
villages were bombed by Russian-made MiG jets belonging to the
Sudanese air force. Many activists fear the new jets may be used in a
renewed bombing campaign in Darfur. Sudan's threats against foreign
intervention in Darfur have also raised fear they could be used
against peacekeepers.

Sudanese Foreign Minister Ismail says the jets have been bought for
training purposes and ridicules what he calls false information being
spread by Darfur rebels to gain international sympathy.

But he acknowledges the MiGs could be used at any time to defend
national security.

"It is for training. We are not forbidden to train our pilots on
MiG-29s or even more sophisticated weapons, which is allowed by
international law. We are going to seek it. We are going to use it. We
should prepare ourselves. We cannot sit, doing nothing while reading
that there could be a threat to our national security," he says.

Meanwhile, an Islamic militant group calling itself Mohammed's Army
handed out leaflets to worshippers Sunday at a mosque in Khartoum,
calling on Sudanese Muslims to defend Darfur against, what the group
describes as, a crusader army from the United States and Britain.

Talk of possible Western military intervention in Darfur began in
earnest last week when Congress declared that the atrocities committed
there by local pro-Khartoum Janjaweed Arab militias against the
region's black African civilians were acts of genocide. Congressional
leaders called on the Bush administration to lead international
efforts to intervene.

On Saturday, Britain's top military commander said that five-thousand
British troops could be sent to western Sudan to help resolve the
nearly 16 month-old conflict. British Prime Minister Tony Blair says
it is too early to consider military intervention, but has not ruled
out sending peacekeepers.

The White House, the United Nations, and the European Union say they
will impose tough new sanctions on Sudan if Khartoum fails to disband
the Janjaweed militias.

Khartoum denies accusations that it has been arming and supporting the
Janjaweed. The government insists it is doing all it can to disarm the
militias and bring security to the region.

The United Nations says the crisis in Darfur is the worst humanitarian
disaster in the world. As many as 50-thousand people are reported to
have died and a million more displaced in Darfur and in neighboring
Chad.