Thursday, December 14, 2006

U.S. special envoy heads to Brussels to talk Darfur

The U.S. special envoy to Sudan was en route to Brussels to discuss the crisis in Darfur with top European Union and NATO officials, the State Department said on Thursday.

Andrew Natsios, who was in Sudan this week, earlier canceled a trip to Chad amid fighting between the government and rebel groups. He had hoped to go to camps housing Darfur refugees there.

He had been expected to go to London after Chad but State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said Natsios would now go to Brussels to see European Union foreign policy chief Javier Solana and NATO Secretary-General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer.

NATO plays a logistical role in Darfur, supporting African Union troops there.
Asked whether Natsios would ask NATO to enforce a no-fly zone in Darfur, McCormack said: "Not that I am aware of."

Britain's Tony Blair has said his country would support a no-fly zone in Darfur as part of a sanctions package against Sudan if it continues to resist allowing an international force into Darfur.

The United States is also considering a range of options, including a no-fly zone, if Sudan does not agree to a force by January 1.

In Brussels, an EU official said the discussion on Darfur would partly depend on the stance taken by EU countries at a summit on Thursday and Friday where Darfur is being discussed.

Sudan has so far refused to allow an international force to go to Darfur to end three years of fighting there that has killed more than 200,000 people. Read more >>>

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