CAIRO, April 14, 2005 (IslamOnline.net ) – A five-way African summit on Darfur, originally scheduled for April 20 in the Egyptian red Sea resort, was postponed over pressures from western countries, particularly the US, Arab diplomatic sources told IslamOnline.net on Thursday, April 14.

“They (western countries) feared the summiteers would back Sudan and rally against the implementation of a UN Security Council resolution” referring 51 Sudanese to the International Criminal Court (ICC) over war crimes in Darfur, an Arab diplomat said.

The diplomat, who requested anonymity, believed the summit would have put the African Union – the main peace broker in the Darfur issue, and the UN on a collision course.

“Of course that would have been embarrassing for both sides and that is why a postponement was needed” he said.

On 1 April, the UN Security Council passed a resolution referring the suspects to The Hague-based ICC.

But Sudanese President Omar Al-Bashir has vowed that his government would not hand over any suspects for trial outside the country, a move that could lead to sanctions on Sudan.

Egypt invited the leaders of Sudan, Libya, Chad and Nigeria, the current chairman of the pan-African body, to a summit on April 20.

But Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Abul-Gheit said on April 10 that the summit has been postponed “because some participants would not be able to attend”.

The Arab diplomat highlighted ongoing diplomatic contacts behind the curtains for a compromise which might include the trial of the Sudanese suspects inside Sudan.

A Sudanese diplomatic source also told IOL that Sudanese Foreign Ministry and US State Department officials were seeking a common ground.

He cited, in this respect, US Deputy Secretary of State Robert Zoellick’s current visit to Khartoum.

Zoellick told reporters after talks with Vice President Ali Osman Taha that the peace process in the war-torn region of Darfur was moving forward, reported Agence France-Presse (AFP).

“I am pleased with the reaction I got from the people I met here today,” added Zoellick, the highest-ranking US official to visit Sudan since former secretary of state Colin Powell in July last year.

“The government can and should do a lot to control its militias, stop the violence and not conduct any violence itself in the Darfur region,” he said.

The Sudanese diplomatic source noted that Foreign Minister Mustafa Othman Ismail will also embark on a multi-leg tour to expound the dangers of the UN Security Council resolution.

A five-way meeting on Darfur, held in Libya in October last year, concluded with a joint statement rejecting any “foreign intervention” in Darfur.

The Darfur conflict erupted in April 2003 when the rebel Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) and the Sudan Liberation Movement (SLM) took up arms against the Khartoum government.

The United Nations said the conflict is causing the world’s worst humanitarian crisis at present.

An estimated 670,000 people have fled their homes since the beginning of the conflict while 110,000 others reportedly sought refuge in neighboring Chad.