Sudan accepts non-military UN support in Darfur

Dec 1 2006 AFP report via Turkish Press - Sudan accepts non-military UN support in Darfur:

Sudan has agreed to accept non-military support from the United Nations for the African Union peacekeeping force in its war-torn Darfur region, a top AU official said after talks in Nigeria.

"The PSC welcomed Sudan?s acceptance of the use of UN systems and command and control structures," AU Peace and Security Council (PSC) head Said Djinnit told reporters late Thursday after a meeting on Darfur on the sidelines of an African-South American summit.

A source close to the talks told AFP that "systems and command and control structures" referred essentially to UN logistical support and to the question of who gets the final say over the appointment of the force commander.

Djinnit said the meeting, which was attended by Sudanese President Omar al-Beshir, agreed to extend the mandate of the currently under-resourced AU force in Darfur for a further six months.

But although Sudan reportedly accepted UN "command and control structures" for that force, it stopped short of agreeing to let the UN contribute troops, let alone take over command.

Speaking before the meeting, Beshir reaffirmed his long-standing refusal to let UN troops into his country.

"Any decision to deploy international forces in Darfur ... will add to the complexity of the situation and will have a negative impact which will certainly lead to more deterioration of the situation," he said in a statement.

This "would negatively affect all the countries of the region", he added.

He called instead for the meeting to boost the AU mission with the "logistical, technical, human and financial support of the UN".

Djinnit said Thursday's meeting had nevertheless agreed the AU and UN would, henceforth, both be involved in key decisions on the force.

The force commander would be jointly appointed by the head of the AU Commission and the UN secretary general, he said. The AU and UN would also be jointly responsible for appointing a "special representative" for Darfur.

UN Secretary General Kofi Annan said after talks on Darfur on November 16 that Sudan had agreed "in principle" to the deployment of a "hybrid" UN-AU peacekeeping force in Darfur.

Thursday's decision was the first indication of what Khartoum might be prepared to accept in practical terms.

Sudan continues vehemently to refuse any military role for the UN in Darfur, arguing it would be a violation of its sovereignty and could worsen the situation there.

Khartoum is especially opposed to a UN Security Council resolution that authorised, with out its approval, a 20,000-strong peacekeeping force for Darfur.

Djinnit said the AU-led force would continue to be made up "essentially of African troops".

He said the meeting had also recognised there "might be a need for UN support troops" in the region but did not indicate whether Beshir had accepted this point.

Also, see AFP report 30 Nov 2006 (via ST 1 Dec 2006) AU's Djinnit says Sudan agrees to UN command of AU force in Darfur

AU's Djinnit says Sudan agrees to UN command of AU force in Darfur

Not yet found another report verifying this unbelievable news. Blogging it here now because AFP is usually pretty accurate. More later.

AFP report 30 Nov 2006 (via ST 1 Dec 2006) Sudan agrees to UN command of AU force in Darfur. Excerpt:

Sudan has agreed to allow the United Nations to take over command of the African Union peacekeeping force in the war-torn region of Darfur, a top AU official said.

He said the mandate of the force in Darfur had also been extended for a further six months.

"We have welcomed Sudan's acceptance of the use of systems and command and control structures of the UN," AU Peace and Security Council head Said Djinnit told reporters in Abuja at the end of the inaugural African-South American summit.

The decision was taken at a meeting on Darfur - attended by Sudanese president Omad al Bashir - that had been held on the margins of the summit in Abuja, Djinnit said.

Angola, Sudan, Ecuador hint at joining Opec

Dec 1 2006 Reuters report via Peninsula, Qatar:

Analysts say joining Opec would give Sudan leverage in its confrontation with the United Nations over atrocities and its refusal to allow UN peacekeepers into Darfur.

Nov 30 2006 Dow Jones report via ST - Sudan to announce results of 3 oil tenders in 2007: One of the blocks is both onshore and in shallow waters. The other two blocks are onshore.

French jets fire on Central African Republic rebels

Dec 1 2006 Reuters report - French jets fire on Central African Republic rebels.

Note, the report tells us neighbouring Chad and the regional central African group CEMAC have also sent military reinforcement.

AU says Sudan agrees to extend Darfur peacekeeping mission, but no UN force

Jordan Davis reports from VOA's regional bureau in Dakar 30 Nov 2006:

The African Union says Sudan will allow the group to extend its peacekeeping mission in the country's Darfur region but will not allow U.N. forces to join them.

Neighboring Chad, meanwhile, says it will welcome U.N. peacekeepers on its territory to stop the violence in Darfur from spreading.

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Cartoon by Jonathan Shapiro 30 Nov 2006 M&G (hat tip POTP)

French PM meets Chad's Deby: Chad accepts UN border force

Idriss Deby, the Chadian president, said that his country will accept the deployment of an international peace force on its eastern border to counter violence from Sudan's Darfur region.

The announcement came after Deby met Dominique de Villepin, the French prime minister. Agencies/Al Jazeera report 1 Dec 2006 - Chad accepts UN border force - excerpt:

France has a military contingent stationed in Chad, its former colony, including fighter jets which give logistical and intelligence support to Chadian government forces.

Deby said: "Chad accepts the United Nations proposal to place forces on its frontier to protect the population and stabilise the sub-region."

He did not specify when the force might be deployed.



The two leaders said the force would be deployed on the Chadian side of the border with Sudan, where three years of conflict have caused tens of thousands of deaths.

Remembering Suez: Britain 'planned to cut off Nile'

Egypt's nationalisation of the Suez Canal in 1956 changed the world. Britain drew up plans to cut the flow of the River Nile to Egypt to force President Gamal Abdel Nasser to give up the Suez Canal in 1956, files reveal.

Full story BBC 1 Dec 2006.

Sudan calls on AU to clarify peacekeeping role in Darfur

Nov 29 2006 Xinhua report excerpt:

The Sudanese government asked on Wednesday the African Union (AU) to clarify its peacekeeping role in Sudan's war-torn western region of Darfur.

The Sudanese government made the call on the eve of an upcoming meeting of the AU Peace and Security Council to be held in the Nigerian capital Abuja to look into the situation in Darfur.

Sudanese President Omar el-Bashir left Khartoum for Abuja on Wednesday evening to attend the meeting.

"We hope that the summit will come up with a clear decision on the AU force in Darfur in the next period and support to be provided by the United Nation to the AU force," Sudanese Foreign Minister Lam Akol told reporters.

Mahjoub Fadel Badri, spokesman of the Sudanese president, announced that President el-Bashir would hold consultations with African leaders on ways of resolving the Darfur crisis on the sidelines of the Abuja summit

"The president will reiterate Sudan's firm position of refusing deployment of UN peacekeeping force in Darfur and the necessity to support the AU force in technical and logistic fields to enable it to continue its mission until the Darfur problem is resolved," the spokesman said.

UN's WFP warehouses looted in Abeche, Chad - Warning ahead of Darfur AU talks

Nov 29 2006 BBC report Warning ahead of Darfur AU talks says UN's aid chief Jan Egeland has warned that conflicts in Sudan's Darfur, Chad and Central African Republic are now "intimately linked".

He said fighters are crossing borders to launch attacks and risking a "really dangerous regional crisis".

His comments in Geneva come as the African Union meets in Nigeria, to discuss help for the overwhelmed and ill-equipped African force in Darfur.



Photos: This Sunday, Nov. 26, 2006 images made available Monday, Nov. 27 by the United Nations World Food Programme shows looted warehouses in Abeche, Chad. With gunfire sounding in the distance, workers took stock Monday of looted U.N. warehouses and government offices in this town in eastern Chad, the latest victim of unrest that started in Sudan's Darfur region and has spread across a swath of Africa. (AP Photo/United Nations World Food Programme)

UN: Nearly two million displaced in Darfur

Nov 27 2006 Sapa-AFP report (via M&G) UN: Nearly two million displaced in Darfur

More people have fled their homes in Sudan's Darfur region than at any time since the conflict started nearly four years ago, said the United Nations on Monday in a report on the worsening humanitarian crisis.

"The number of IDPs [internally displaced people] has reached nearly two million, the highest level since the conflict started in 2003 and an increase of [about] 125 000 since the July 1 report," said a summary of the report.

The report reviews the humanitarian situation in Sudan's western region of Darfur covering the months of July, August and September.

"Another two million Darfurians directly affected by the ongoing crisis are in need of humanitarian aid, again the highest number ... since the beginning of the current crisis," the report added.

The conflict started in February 2003 when ethnic minority rebels demanding a greater share of the country's resources took up arms, prompting a scorched-earth campaign by the government and its allied Janjaweed militia.

According to the UN, at least 200 000 people have died from the combined effect of civil fighting and famine since then. Some sources say the toll is much higher, with villages burnt and mass rape being blamed mainly on the militia.

The UN, which runs the largest humanitarian operation in Sudan, also said it was being increasingly obstructed in its relief efforts.

Darfur population figures are estimated at 6 million, 6.5 million, or 6-7 million If true, where are the other 4m I wonder. And where are the bodies of 200,000 - 400,000 Darfurians buried, I still wonder ...

Pundits and activists living in cloud cuckoo land

Funny, I've used the term 'living in cloud cuckoo land' to describe the pundits and activists pushing for war in Sudan.

American blogger Jerry Fowler of Voices on Genocide Prevention notes the new Human Rights Council rejected an attempt to hold the Sudanese government responsible for halting atrocities in Darfur.

Jerry says the Council meets in Geneva but might as well be in cloud cuckoo land for all the good it's doing to protect human rights of civilians in Darfur. I wonder what exactly Jerry hoped they'd do or say at this point in negotiations.

It irks me to read armchair pundits criticising what is being done about Darfur without saying what should be done and spelling out the consequences of any action. Surely if they did their homework and thought through what they were suggesting for Sudan, they might realise they're being irresponsible pushing for more war and possibly the start of World War III.
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UPDATE: Nov 29 2006 Reuters - Annan criticises UN rights body, wants Darfur move - Annan said that a "new atmosphere" was urgently needed but that some of the criticism of the Council was premature.

Sudan set to respond today on planned UN-AU force in Darfur- Annan

Excerpt from yesterday's UN News Centre report 28 Nov 2006:

Secretary-General Kofi Annan said today that the Sudanese Government has promised to respond formally by tomorrow morning about the details for a planned hybrid United Nations-African Union (AU) force to assume peacekeeping duties in the war-torn region of Darfur.

Speaking to reporters at UN Headquarters in New York, Mr. Annan said Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir made the pledge during a telephone call today, one day before an AU summit in Abuja is slated to discuss the proposed joint operation.

Asked about media reports that Mr. Bashir has said he remains opposed to any kind of UN force in Darfur, Mr. Annan said he would "much rather wait" for the formal response.

Annan urges AU to press ahead on 'hybrid' Darfur force

Nov 29 2006 VOA:

U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan says he expects the African Union to press ahead with plans for a U.N.-supported "hybrid" peacekeeping mission in Darfur.

Mr. Annan discussed the so-called "hybrid force" proposal in a telephone conversation Tuesday with Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir. The call came a day after the Sudanese leader told a video news conference his government would not accept U.N.-backed foreign troops in Darfur.

Two weeks ago, after a high-level meeting on Darfur in Addis Ababa, Mr. Annan announced that Sudan had agreed "in principle" to a joint African Union-U.N. mission for the region. U.N. officials said the agreement called for a blue-helmeted force of 17,000 troops and 3,000 police officers to bolster an existing 7,000-strong AU force.

Since then, however, Sudanese authorities have made conflicting statements about their understanding of the deal.

President Bashir added to the confusion Monday when he said foreign peacekeepers coming to Sudan under a U.N. Security Council resolution would be considered "colonizing forces." At the same time, however, he said refusing to accept blue-helmeted troops does not mean Khartoum is not cooperating with the world body.

Secretary-General Annan told reporters Tuesday Mr. Bashir had promised a fuller explanation regarding three questions Sudan had raised about the Addis Ababa agreement.

"The first question was the size of the force, what strength the force should be," said Mr. Annan. "The second question dealt with the appointment of the Special Representative, or the High Representative, who would report to both the African Union and the U.N., and the appointment of the commander, where they felt that the commander should be an African. And we have no problem with that."

Mr. Annan said the Sudanese reply would be discussed at an African Union summit Wednesday in the Nigerian capital, Abuja. He told reporters he expects African Union leaders to "press ahead" with the agreement reached earlier this month in Addis Ababa.

Sudan & UN Troops: Contradiction?

Here is a copy of some comments at Drima's blog entry on Sudan & UN Troops: Contradiction?

The Raccoon Says:
November 28th, 2006
Seems to me like Sudan is playing the waiting game, much like Iran. Just stall everything long enough and there won't be a need for any troops... unless they come with shovels.

Roman Kalik Says:
November 28th, 2006
Yep. The logic seems to be to keep the clock ticking until the problem becomes an even bigger problem, as long as it isn't the regime's problem.

Sudan's president spews anti-Semitism

Thanks to Howie for sending in this report by David Byers, The Jerusalem Post, Nov 28 2006: Sudan's president spews anti-Semitism.

Chad says Saudi Arabia finances and supplies rebels

Chadian government spokesman Doumgor claimed some refugees were working for the Sudanese government to destabilize Chad. He also repeated allegations made a day earlier that Saudi Arabia finances and supplies the rebels to spread the kingdom's strict form of Islam.

Full story by AP 28 Nov 2006 via IHT.

Jan Pronk: Can diplomats write weblogs?

UN SRSG Jan Pronk - Weblog Nov 27, 2006. Copy in full:

After I had been declared persona non grata by the Government of Sudan I have received hundreds and hundreds of e-mails. About ninety percent was positive. People thanked me for candid reporting, shared their criticism of the violations of the peace agreement with me and urged me to continue. A small minority was negative. Some Dutch said that they had been happy that I, as a left wing politician, had left Dutch politics a couple of years earlier. They urged me to stay away. Others, mainly Sudanese, told me that they were fully in agreement with the Government. Some of them told me to stay away from Sudan and threatened me in case I would return. However, I also received quite a few positive reactions from Sudanese people, both from Darfur, the South, Khartoum and the Diaspora. I have tried to answer all mail in person, the positive as well as the critical ones, provided that rational arguing was possible.

Some people have raised the issue of the weblog itself. As I wrote in my previous weblog, nr 37, the Government had argued that throughout the year I had developed a history of hostility against the Government of Sudan and its armed forces. As an example the Government mentioned, in its letter to the Secretary General of the UN, "damaging and negative statements to the media and in his (i.e. my) own website." However, I am convinced that the real reason was that the Government wanted to silence me. I had regularly reported that the Government and the army, despite the signing of the Darfur Peace Agreement, had continued to violate this agreement as well as Security Council Resolutions. They did so, I argued, by bringing more and more military forces to Darfur, by incorporating the Janjaweed in its own para-military forces and by arming in stead of disarming them, by continuing attacks and bombardments on positions of rebel movements and by allowing and supporting attacks on civilians. The Government, I argued, though having agreed to making peace, clearly continued to seek a military victory.

Since then the facts on the ground in Darfur have shown that I was right. Attacks have continued and intensified. The number of casualties has increased. Villages have been burned down. Many innocent civilians have been killed and chased away. The cleansing continues. There is no peace whatsoever in Darfur. To a great extent this is the responsibility of the Government. I will refrain from documenting this in my weblog of today. It has been documented in the daily situation reports published by UNMIS, in press releases by the African Union, in statements made by my colleague Under-Secretary General Jan Egeland, following his recent visit to Sudan, as well as in reports published by UNHCR and the UN High Commissioner on Human Rights. It is public knowledge.

Should I have published this in my weblog? Some people have argued that my weblog has contributed to the conflict with the Government. In their view I should have exercised restraint in criticizing the Government. I have been told that this is the position of some members of the UN bureaucracy, though none of them ever communicated this to me directly. The bureaucracy is not familiar with the phenomenon of UN diplomats writing blogs. Politicians writing blogs are a more regular phenomenon. From their side I have received only positive comments. In the meeting of the Security Council, which I briefed after I had been expulsed from Sudan, no criticism on my writing of a blog was raised. On the contrary, all criticisms were directed at the Government of Sudan for having taken an unjustified and illegitimate decision. From the side of non-governmental organisations and Sudan watchers I have always been stimulated to continue writing. Some press commentaries were a bit more critical, but the attitude of journalists towards journalistic blogs by people in responsible positions is generally rather ambivalent.

I can understand such an ambivalent position. Politicians, high officials and other decision makers writing about their experiences are not objective, neutral, impartial analysts. They tend to be selective and subjective. They will be inclined to emphasize certain aspects of events more than others and to report in a rather coloured fashion. In writing my blog I was aware of this risk. I have made an effort to avoid undue subjectivity. I certainly did not pretend to write my blog as a substitute for independent writings by journalists.

Why did I write? I had two reasons. First, I like combining my work as a politician with analytical reflections on what I am doing and on the environment within which I am working. I have always done so, by lecturing, by writing articles and essays and by making extensive notes for myself. It helps me focussing. Blogging for me was a convenient extension of this practice, simply by using a new instrument. I had a second reason. Why not sharing my reflections with others? I wanted to be accountable, not only to the UN bureaucracy in New York, whom we were sending regularly extensive analytical reports, but broader. I consider myself much more a politician than a diplomat. Politicians have to be accountable and transparent.

I also wrote to inform in particular people in Sudan itself. I gave quite a few press conferences in Khartoum. However, despite the lifting of press censorship in Sudan one and a half year ago, the press did not always feel free to print what was not to the liking of the Government. Instead of being censored before a text was put to print, which until mid 2005 had daily been the case for all texts of all newspapers, press freedom got increasingly curtailed by a combination of self censorship and threats to be charged with violations of security laws. Moreover, the Sudanese press is not free to visit Darfur on its own initiative. Sudanese radio and TV refused to interview UN personnel or to broadcast information contradicting the official position of the authorities, let alone dissenting opinions. For these reasons reports about events in Sudan, published by UNMIS on its website, news broadcast by radio Miraya and the background information that I provided on my own website were a useful complement to what the general public in Sudan could read in the newspapers, hear on the radio or see on TV.

In my weblog I wrote the same as what I said in press conferences, in interviews with the international press, in public speeches or in reports which were published either by UNMIS itself or through UN Headquarters in New York. It has been said that my blog reflected my personal opinion, different from an opinion in my capacity as Special Representative of the Secretary General of the United Nations in Sudan. This is nonsense. In my blog I said the same as in press conferences and on other public occasions, attended in my official capacity. How could somebody in my position make a distinction between official and private? Such a distinction can only be made for statements about issues which do not fall under my mandate, such as the reform of the UN, the war in Lebanon or the elections in The Netherlands. Once appointed as Special Representative of the Secretary General of the United Nations, any view expressed by me about Sudan, at any time, anywhere and with the help of any medium, is the official view.

As a public official I am a participant in a process, not a spectator. As a participant I am subjective. However, that official subjectivity is rooted in norms and values enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations and the Charter on Human Rights. It is my duty to disseminate these values and to highlight violations. I am duty bound to do so in a credible and legitimate manner. I have always tried to do so, transparently and consistently. For that reason I have set myself some rules which I should keep while writing my blog:

First: Present only facts, not rumours or hearsay. Check the facts; don't make up stories.

Second: Present only quotes of public statements. Do not quote what other persons said in official or informal meetings. In references to such meetings only quote your self. Do not breach confidentiality.

Third: Present criticism in a balanced manner. Approach all parties alike. Be even handed.

Fourth: Do not attack individual persons. Criticize organizations, institutions or movements. Criticize their values, policies and behaviour, when they are in conflict with internationally agreed principles and norms.

Fifth: Do not only present criticism. Do not only report negative developments. Highlight also positive facts. Do not withhold praise, when deserved.

Together these rules can ensure a fair degree of honesty. Of course it is always difficult to combine, in one text, news with commentaries. That is the eternal dilemma of a journalist. As I said, I am not a journalist, but a politician. It is the duty of a politician to present opinions on the basis of facts, and to translate these opinions into action. In my position I had to combine a political posture with a diplomatic approach.

In the end I may not have been successful. However, that has nothing to do with blogging. As I said earlier, I had to combine the two approaches also when giving a press conference and when addressing the Security Council or other forums. The Government of Sudan, requesting me to leave Sudanese territory, did not only refer to what I had written in my weblog, but to 'statements to the media and in (the) website'. They criticized me for the content of my statements, not for the channels that I had used. I utterly disagree with the views and policies of the Government, but in one aspect they are right: it is not important where you say something, but what you say. So, if bureaucrats want to criticize views expressed by politicians or diplomats, they should not criticize the medium, but the message.

Many people have asked me whether I deplore what I had written in my weblog. I don't. Some sentences could have been written differently. If I would have known before how the Government would react, I would have chosen other language. However, the sole purpose of my statements was to persuade the rebel movements to refrain from further attacks on the Sudanese Armed Forces. I succeeded, because the rebel commanders committed themselves to a purely defensive posture and requested me to bring this message to the Government. However, the Government clearly did not want to lose a possible justification for the attacks by the Army and the militia. For that reason they bombed the place where I had met the rebel commanders before I could bring the message to Khartoum. Since then they have continued to seek a military victory. They would have found another reason to declare me persona non grata if I would have persisted in my public criticism.

The Government is still violating peace and ceasefire agreements as well as principles, norms and values of the UN. It continues to do so, despite having signed these agreements and despite that Sudan, as a member state of the United Nations, is bound to uphold these principles. In my capacity as Special Representative of the United Nations I still consider it my duty to disseminate these norms and values and to report about violations.

Great stuff. Historic. Please keep on blogging Mr Pronk! Don't allow them to silence you. Millions of homeless Sudanese people are depending on the truth being told.

Chad rebels shoot down govt plane

The following report tells us foreign diplomats said they believed the plane shot down was one of two aircraft, thought to be Italian-made Marquetti fighters, which Libyan leader Col Gaddafi had made available to Chad's military in recent days to counter the rebel threat.

Reuters report Nov 28 2006 by Stephanie Hancock - Chad rebels say they shot down government plane (via WP) - excerpt:

Chadian rebels said on Tuesday they shot down a government military plane with a captured ground-to-air missile in fighting near the eastern town of Abeche, which they briefly seized at the weekend.

"The plane was shot down by a missile launched by our forces. It was attacking our positions," Mahamat Nouri, leader of the rebel Union of Forces for Democracy and Development (UFDD), told Reuters by satellite telephone.

A military source in Chad said a plane appeared to be missing in action after it failed to return to the air base in Abeche after a sortie on Tuesday morning, but he could not give any further details.

Chadian Defense ministry officials could not be reached for immediate comment.

Foreign diplomats said they believed the plane shot down was one of two aircraft, thought to be Italian-made Marquetti fighters, which Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi had made available to Chad's military in recent days to counter the rebel threat.

UFDD spokesman Ali Ahmat told Reuters the plane was shot down during fighting with government forces 40 km (25 miles) west of Abeche. He said a government helicopter had also been shot down, but that claim could not immediately be confirmed.

Not even 9,000 have died in Darfur, Sudanese president

AFP report : Not even 9,000 have died in Darfur, Sudanese president - excerpt:

Bashir also reiterated his stance supporting the continued presence of AU monitors in Darfur and denied his country's acceptance of a proposal for a "hybrid force" comprising troops from both the AU and the UN.

He charged that the deployment of some 20,000 UN peacekeepers stipulated in the August 31 UN Security Council resolution would de facto place his country under international mandate.

"We would run the risk of having a Bremer Mark II and just look at what he did to Iraq," Beshir said, in reference to Paul Bremer, who headed the Coalition Provisional Authority in Iraq in the aftermath of the 2003 US-led invasion.

Bashir argued the only solution to the conflict in Darfur was to continue efforts to rally holdout rebel groups to the May peace agreement Khartoum signed with the main rebel faction.

"This is a strategic choice for us," he said.

No doubt Libya and other neighbours will agree with him.

Sudanese criticise Bashir denial of Darfur crisis

Nov 28 2006 Reuters report by Opheera McDoom - Sudanese criticise Bashir denial of Darfur crisis - excerpt:

Sudanese political parties criticised President Omar Hassan al-Bashir on Tuesday, saying that in a news conference broadcast live to nine countries he showed signs of denial and lack of respect for Sudanese lives.

"The people outside will think that the president is lying and he does not respect the international community. This is an attitude of denial which will not solve the problem," said Bashir Adam Rahman of the Popular Congress Party.

"When he denies the sun in the middle of the day that means either he is not serious or he thinks people are fools," added Rahman, who is political secretary of the opposition party.

Mariam al-Mahdi, spokeswoman for the opposition Umma Party, said Bashir has shown a lack of respect for the lives of Sudanese people, adding that a few months ago he had said 10,000 people have been killed in the troubled region of western Sudan, more than the 9,000 he mentioned on Monday night.

"How can our last resort -- the president -- belittle the deaths of Sudanese people?" she said.

"Ultimately foreigners are more kind to our people than our president," said Mahdi.

Al-Tayyib Khamis, spokesman for the former Darfur rebel group the Sudan Liberation Movement (SLM), which joined central government after signing a peace deal in May, said Bashir had underestimated the number of dead by at least five times.

"There are no people in the world suffering as much as the people of Darfur," he said. "Without the humanitarian agencies the people of Darfur would be dead."

"We ask the president: 'Where is the security in Darfur?' There's no stability ... there's still rape, the Janjaweed are still burning villages," Khamis said.

But SLM leader Minni Arcua Minnawi, now a presidential adviser, said earlier on Monday that the government was working with the Janjaweed, rearming and mobilising them.

"Minni is right -- the Janjaweed are part of the government and they work with the government," said Khamis.

Rahman said Bashir wanted to have his comments heard ahead of the African Union's Peace and Security Council meeting in Nigeria on Wednesday, which is likely to decide whether to extend the mandate of the struggling AU peace monitoring force in Darfur to beyond the end of the year.