Kadhafi hosts African summit on eve of anniversary
Tuesday, 1 September 2009
TRIPOLI, Aug 31 (AFP): African leaders gathered in Libya Monday for a special summit to discuss the continent's trouble spots, on the eve of celebrations to mark 40 years of Moamer Kadhafi's rule.
The conflicts in Somalia and Sudan are expected to top the agenda at the meeting, the third African Union summit so far this year.
"We'll try to focus on all conflict situations... We believe that we can move forward in terms of peace and discussions," the AU's Peace and Security Council chief Ramtane Lamamra said, singling out Somalia.
Hardline Islamist rebels launched a sweeping onslaught in Mogadishu in May against the government of President Sharif Sheikh Ahmed, reducing his reach to only a handful of areas with the backing of AU peacekeepers.
The summit will examine ways to "further support the Somali transitional government, in particular by reinforcing its institutions and by improving security in the country," a summit document said.
Focus will also fall on Sudan's war-ravaged Darfur region and the AU's joint peacekeeping force with the United Nations, which has been plagued by funding and equipment shortfalls.
"The need to reinforce security (in Darfur) is paramount," the document said.
Some 300,000 people have died in the six-year conflict with 2.7 million displaced, according to the United Nations, but Sudan's government puts the death toll at 10,000.
According to the state-run Jana news agency, Sudan's President Omar al-Beshir was attending the summit, on his second visit to Libya since the International Criminal Court in March issued an arrest warrant against him for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity in Darfur.
The summit is also expected to review the political deadlocks in Guinea and Madagascar, where governments were toppled despite strong opposition from the AU.
African leaders are also expected to endorse a common stance on climate change, seeking billions of dollars in compensation from industrialised nations.
Monday's summit is being held in a festive atmosphere as Libya marks the anniversary of the coup against the monarchy on September 1, 1969 that brought Kadhafi to power.
The self-proclaimed "king of the kings" of Africa, Kadhafi called the extraordinary meeting just two months after having hosted the 13th ordinary summit of the AU at the end of June in his birthplace Sirte.
"We are at about the same point where we were at the last summit in Sirte. There have been no major advances," an African minister told the reporter on the sidelines of the gathering.
The conflicts in Somalia and Sudan are expected to top the agenda at the meeting, the third African Union summit so far this year.
"We'll try to focus on all conflict situations... We believe that we can move forward in terms of peace and discussions," the AU's Peace and Security Council chief Ramtane Lamamra said, singling out Somalia.
Hardline Islamist rebels launched a sweeping onslaught in Mogadishu in May against the government of President Sharif Sheikh Ahmed, reducing his reach to only a handful of areas with the backing of AU peacekeepers.
The summit will examine ways to "further support the Somali transitional government, in particular by reinforcing its institutions and by improving security in the country," a summit document said.
Focus will also fall on Sudan's war-ravaged Darfur region and the AU's joint peacekeeping force with the United Nations, which has been plagued by funding and equipment shortfalls.
"The need to reinforce security (in Darfur) is paramount," the document said.
Some 300,000 people have died in the six-year conflict with 2.7 million displaced, according to the United Nations, but Sudan's government puts the death toll at 10,000.
According to the state-run Jana news agency, Sudan's President Omar al-Beshir was attending the summit, on his second visit to Libya since the International Criminal Court in March issued an arrest warrant against him for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity in Darfur.
The summit is also expected to review the political deadlocks in Guinea and Madagascar, where governments were toppled despite strong opposition from the AU.
African leaders are also expected to endorse a common stance on climate change, seeking billions of dollars in compensation from industrialised nations.
Monday's summit is being held in a festive atmosphere as Libya marks the anniversary of the coup against the monarchy on September 1, 1969 that brought Kadhafi to power.
The self-proclaimed "king of the kings" of Africa, Kadhafi called the extraordinary meeting just two months after having hosted the 13th ordinary summit of the AU at the end of June in his birthplace Sirte.
"We are at about the same point where we were at the last summit in Sirte. There have been no major advances," an African minister told the reporter on the sidelines of the gathering.