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Sudan condemns U.S. remarks on Darfur peace document

13 March 2014 01:13 (UTC +04:00)

Baku-APA. Sudan on Wednesday condemned remarks by a U.S. diplomat who criticized Doha Document for Peace in Darfur (DDPD) and called for finding an alternative negotiating forum, APA reports quoting Xinhua.

At Monday's meeting of the African Union Peace and Security Council, U.S. representative Samantha Power reportedly called on council members to find an alternative forum to resolve the Darfur crisis, saying the DDPD has become outdated and cannot be relied on.

"This strange stance contradicts the regional and international consensus that the DDPD is the suitable framework for achieving peace in Darfur," Sudan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement.

It added that the remarks mean that the United States encourages attacks by armed movements which have been intensified against safe villages in Darfur.

The ministry further said that the call for finding an alternative to the Doha forum is contradictory to repeated decisions by the UN Security Council.

The U.S. remarks came at a time when the Darfur region has witnessed an escalating tribal violence and armed clashes there between the Sudanese army and armed groups.

Qatar patronized marathon talks between the Sudanese government and Darfur rebel groups, which led to the signing of the DDPD between the government and the Liberation and Justice Movement in July 2011.

But the Darfur Rebel Justice and Equality Movement rejected the document, saying that it did not fulfill the demands of the Darfur people.