Sudan denied on Thursday a media report that it had sent
aircraft camouflaged with marking of the United Nations (UN) to its
troubled western Darfur region.
"This report is baseless and totally contradictory to the
principles of the Sudanese Armed Force (SAF) and its commitment to
these principles and the conventions it had signed," SAF spokesman
Osman Mohammed al-Aghbash told reporters.
"This accusation, which is absolutely unacceptable, is closing
the door of cooperation between Sudan and the parties which are
standing behind the insults against Sudan," he added.
The denial came after the New York Times reported on
Tuesday that the Sudanese government had been flying arms and heavy
military equipment into Darfur in violation of UN Security Council
resolutions.
The report also said that Sudanese military planes had been
found painted white to disguise them as UN or African Union
aircraft, adding that at least one plane had been camouflaged with
the UN marking.
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has expressed concern over the
report, saying that he "will continue to work closely with the
Security Council on the issue and will expect full cooperation from
the government of Sudan, other governments and all other parties to
provide prompt clarification."
(Xinhua News Agency April 20, 2007)
