Sudan Braces for a Diplomatic Showdown

Sudanese Foreign Minister Lam Akol, sits in the Plenary Hall of the headquarters of the African Union in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa, Friday, Jan. 26, 2007. The summit attendees could decide on a successor to AU Commission Chairman Alpha Oumar Konare, whose chairmanship ends in July, and choose a country to lead the AU, a post that rotates every year. Sudan is due to assume the position, but has been forced to step aside before because of the Darfur crisis, in which more than 200,000 people have died and 2.5 million displaced.(AP Photo/Les Neuhaus) (Les Neuhaus - AP)

KHARTOUM, Sudan -- Sudan braced for a diplomatic showdown as the government confirmed Sunday it intended to secure the chairmanship of the African Union, while outside observers and regional rebels warned this would compromise the body's attempt to maintain peace in Darfur.

The AU meets this week in Ethiopia to choose its new chairman, a position that rotates among African heads of states. The spiraling violence in Sudan's western Darfur region, where the AU has posted 7,000 peacekeepers, is expected to top the agenda.

Many observers say Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir is a party to the conflict and should not chair the organization. The AU chairman is elected by African heads of states.

Sudan had pushed to obtain the chairmanship during last year's summit, held in Khartoum, but African leaders selected Republic of Congo's President Denis Sassou Nguesso in a compromise deal for him to chair for one year and then hand over to al-Bashir.

"The AU already deferred a decision to grant the chairmanship to Sudan in 2005 and 2006 due to Sudanese government violations in Darfur," the human rights group Amnesty International said in a statement Monday. "We hope that African governments will not change this stance, given the persistent failures of the government of Sudan to stop human rights abuses in Darfur."

But Khartoum says AU leaders already have agreed to select al-Bashir.

"African heads of states will have to stick to their word (and select al-Bashir), otherwise what is the point for the AU to hold meetings and reach agreements?" Sudanese Foreign Ministry spokesman Ali Sadiq said Sunday.

Sadiq dismissed claims that a Sudanese chairmanship would put the African force in an awkward position in Darfur, saying the regional body's chief does not have oversight over day-to-day peacekeeping operations.

But Darfur rebel leaders warned they would stop considering the AU mission as an honest peace-broker in Darfur if al-Bashir is selected.

"We are fighting al-Bashir and his army. ... There will be huge chaos in Darfur if he becomes AU chairman," rebel chief Khalil Ibrahim warned in a phone interview.

Ibrahim heads the Justice and Equality Movement, the backbone of a rebel coalition that has repeatedly defeated government forces in North Darfur. The coalition recently threatened it would treat AU peacekeepers as a "hostile force" if al-Bashir becomes their nominal head.

"I hope all African leaders understand that we are very serious about this," Ibrahim said. "If they select al-Bashir, it will mean the AU instantly terminates its mission in Darfur."