Arabic Media

July 20, 2023

Source:Al Khaleej (UAE daily, with over 80,000 in circulation)

Headline: Al Bashir to Visit Darfur as Tanzania Meeting Preparations intensify

Jan Eliasson, United Nations envoy to Darfur, announced that by the end of August, the United Nations and the African Union will send out invitations to Sudanese rebel groups and government to participate in the last phase of peace negotiations on Darfur. He also announced:

• Tanzania meeting with all rebel groups will be help on August 5 and 6
• Rebel groups will coordinate their positions regarding power and wealth sharing, and security
• Eliasson also called on the government and rebel groups to end all ongoing hostilities
• He urged Abdul Wahid Nour of Sudan Liberation Movement to participate in the Tanzania meeting

At the same time, Darfur provisional governments announced that President Omar Al Bahsir will visit Darfur on Saturday to see the region’s progress up close. He is expected to hold a meeting with Darfur leadership in Al Fashir, the capital of North Darfur.

Source:Al Jazeera (Leading Arabic News Channel, headquartered in Qatar)

Headline: Bush to Support United Nations in Darfur

During a speech in Tennessee, President Bush shifted positions about sending US troops unilaterally to Darfur. He explained that:

• US wants to work with its allies and Congress to resolve the crisis in Darfur
• US will work through the United Nations to reach a peace agreement in Darfur
• US is exerting pressure the UN to act quickly to resolve the crisis, and
• US has expanded sanctions against Sudan to force it to end violence in Darfur.

Meanwhile, United Nations envoy Jan Eliasson urged Abdul Wahid Nour, head of Sudan Liberation Movement, to join and support UN and AU sponsored meeting in Tanzania to coordinate rebel groups’ positions on governance, wealth, and security ahead of their peace negotiations with the government. Nour, who does not have a large armed group, is very popular at the refugee camps and his group’s support and participation in these meetings is crucial.

Source:Al Hayat (Saudi-owned Pan-Arab daily with wide circulation)

Headline: Khartoum Rejects Brown’s Threats and United Nations Warns against Peace Talks Failure

By: Annour Ahmed Annour

Jan Eliasson, UN envoy to Sudan, said that Tanzania meeting, which will gather rebel groups, will be held between August 3 and 5, and added that:

• Khartoum government supported the meeting and was willing to adjust the Abuja peace agreement it signed with Sudan Liberation Movement – MM faction
• The rebel groups will discuss and coordinate their positions on power and wealth sharing ahead of peace talks with the government
• The government and rebel groups should end hostilities ahead of all these meeting as a sign of good faith
• He also urged Abdul Wahid Nour, head of Sudan Liberation Movement – AW faction, to reconsider his boycott of Tanzania meeting. Nour’s presence during the negotiations is crucial given the wide support he enjoys in the refugee camps.

Meanwhile, the Sudanese government rejected Prime Minister Brown’s threat of sanctions, as badly timed and counter productive.

Read the above in Arabic.