A senior Sudanese official said here on Sunday that negotiations
to settle a dispute between Sudan and Chad will be held in Tripoli,
Libya, in preparation for a mini summit to resolve difference
between the two countries.
SUNA news agency quoted Sudanese Presidential Minister and
former foreign minister Mustafa Osman Ismail as saying that the
negotiations would last for two days to end up with a summit "if
there is progress".
Ismail, prior to his departure for Tripoli, said this summit
came under Libya's efforts to contain the dispute between Sudan and
Chad, expecting that the African Union (AU) chairmanship and
commission will participate in the summit.
The Sudanese-Chadian relations have witnessed escalation over
the last two months after the Chadian government accused Sudan of
causing disorder in Chad's eastern border by supporting deserters
from the Chadian forces who launched attacks against their
government.
Earlier, Libyan leader Muammar Ghaddafi has led efforts to
settle the dispute between the two neighboring countries using his
sponsorship to make peace under the Sahel and Saharan Community of
which Sudan and Chad are members.
An AU summit held in Khartoum last month has authorized Ghaddafi
to continue his efforts to solve the disputes between Khartoum and
N'Djamena, capital of Chad.
(Xinhua News Agency February 6, 2006)
