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China's plea on Darfur

BEIJING: China's special envoy dedicated to the Darfur crisis wants Sudan to do more to help put a peacekeeping plan in place in the war-ravaged region, said a Chinese Foreign Ministry official on Thursday. Liu Guijin, who took up the post of Special Representative to African Affairs earlier this month, just wrapped up his first visit to Darfur. ``He hopes that Sudan can exert more flexibility in the implementation of the Annan plan so as to press ahead with the political process of the Darfur region and further improve the humanitarian and security situation in Darfur,'' said a Ministry spokeswoman. The U.N and Sudan agreed in November on a plan backed by the former U.N. Secretary-General, Kofi Annan, for the incremental deployment of a joint African Union-U.N. force of 20,000 peacekeepers. But Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir has backed off the deal, saying he would allow only a larger AU force with technical and logistical support from the UN. — AP

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