Sudan to complain to UN over Egypt Darfur allegations

By Mohammed Amin

KHARTOUM (AA) - Sudan has vowed to lodge an official complaint with the UN Security Council against Egypt, which it accuses of supporting rebel groups in the troubled Darfur region.

Sudan’s Foreign Ministry has also said that it plans to file a similar complaint with the Addis Ababa-based African Union and the Cairo-based Arab league.

The moves come amid ongoing tension between Khartoum and Cairo after Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir last week accused Egypt of arming and supporting rebel groups fighting the Sudanese government in Darfur.

Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi, for his part, has vociferously denied the accusations.

Sudanese Foreign Ministry spokesman Garib Allah al-Khidir has also accused Cairo of failing to commit to a de-escalation agreement signed earlier this year between the two countries.

Al-Khidir told Anadolu Agency that Cairo was intentionally dragging its feet in implementing the agreement, which was signed between the Sudanese and Egyptian foreign ministers in April.

“The Egyptian media continues to engage in provocations and insults against Sudan,” al-Khidr said. “This is unacceptable and must stop immediately.”

April’s de-escalation agreement called on both sides to halt hostile media coverage of one another, along with other steps aimed at reducing bilateral tensions.

Al-Khidir went on to describe a Sudanese ban on Egyptian imports as a “technical decision” that had “nothing to do with current political tensions between the two countries”.

On Tuesday, the Sudanese authorities extended the ban on Egyptian imports and added new commodities to its list of proscribed Egyptian products.