U.S. special envoy heads to Brussels to talk Darfur
Source: Reuters
(Adds more from Brussels, senior State official) By Sue Pleming WASHINGTON, Dec 14 (Reuters) - 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 visiting 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 Jan. 1. An EU summit in Brussels was due on Friday to voice backing for a U.N. mission to Darfur to probe allegations of worsening abuses against civilians but EU officials did not see any early consensus on Blair's suggestion on a no-fly zone. "This has been floating around since 2005 but the first thing that needs to be done on it is a U.N. Security Council resolution. I don't think this issue can be addressed now," said an EU official. 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. Natsios met Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir in Khartoum this week and McCormack said the U.S. envoy got agreement from Sudan to provide visas to U.N. logistical experts to go to Darfur to assess what was needed there. Bashir has resisted a "hybrid" U.N.-African Union force in Darfur, which the United States and others are pushing. U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs Jendayi Frazer, said the U.N./African Union hybrid force was a "very good compromise" and she urged Sudan's government to accept this offer. "The U.N. is the organization that has the capabilities to provide leadership," she added. (Additional reporting by Mark John in Brussels)
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