The leaders of Sudan, Chad and the Central African Republic held talks yesterday to discuss the conflict in the Sudanese region of Darfur, from where violence has spilled over into neighbouring states.
Sudanese president Omar Hassan al-Bashir, Chad's president, Idriss Déby, and the Central African Republic's president, François Bozizé, attended the talks, as did Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak and African Union chairman John Kufuor.
But before the start of the meeting, which was suggested by Mr al-Bashir, Chad launched a scathing attack on Khartoum. "This same meeting is useless because it is aimed at distracting international public opinion and moving it away from the real problem, which is that Sudan is attacking Chad. We are not in Cannes to entertain the crowd," foreign minister Ahmat Allam-Mi said.
The UN has approved a three-phased deployment of peacekeepers to Darfur to relieve and support the 7,000-strong African Union mission. The first phase has been completed but Khartoum has still not approved the second phase. The UN ultimately wants 17,000 troops in Darfur, but cannot send them in without Khartoum's approval.