President Omar al-Bashir at the Merowe Dam in Sudan. This project will provide the largest source of electrical generation on the African continent.
Originally uploaded by Pan-African News Wire File Photos
By Alisha Ryu
Nairobi
01 January 2008
The U.S. Embassy in Khartoum says it is unclear why an American diplomat and his driver were shot and killed early Tuesday in the Sudanese capital. The diplomat was identified as 33-year-old John Granville, his driver was a 40-year-old Sudanese national Abdel Rahman Abbas. VOA correspondent Alisha Ryu in our East Africa Bureau in Nairobi reports on the shooting that has shocked the diplomatic community in Khartoum.
The spokesman for the U.S. Embassy, Walter Braunohler, tells VOA that the diplomat, an official working for the U.S. Agency for International Development, died while being treated for his wounds.
"Unfortunately, he succumbed to them and passed away," he said. "It is too early to tell why, exactly what happened, etc. There is an investigation on-going, and we are working closely with local authorities."
Braunohler declined to comment on a Sudanese Foreign Ministry statement, which said the American diplomat was in his car when he was shot five times in the hand, shoulder and stomach. The Sudanese statement said the car was heading toward a suburb west of Khartoum.
The driver, a 40-year-old Sudanese national working for the embassy, was killed instantly.
American and Sudanese officials say they do not know whether the attack was a random criminal act or had a political motive.
U.S.-Sudanese relations have been tense because of the violence in Sudan's Darfur region.
US Signs Law that curbs U.S. investment in Sudan
CRAWFORD, TEXAS (Los Angeles Times) -- President Bush signed legislation Monday intended to restrict U.S. investment in Sudan, despite his administration's concern that it improperly gives state and local governments a hand in foreign policy.
The House and Senate, ignoring the administration's objections, approved the bill unanimously, and Bush signed it at his home near here. But the president reserved the right to enforce it "in a manner that does not conflict" with the federal government's authority to conduct the nation's dealings with other countries.
At the same time, he pledged that his administration would "continue its efforts to bring about significant improvements in the conditions in Sudan" through sanctions and high-level diplomacy and by supporting peacekeepers in Darfur.
"I share the deep concern of the Congress over the continued violence in Darfur perpetrated by the government of Sudan and rebel groups," Bush said in a written statement.
The violence in Darfur, in which non-Arab rebels are fighting the Khartoum government and Arab militias, is in its fifth year. It has taken an estimated 200,000 lives and forced at least 2 million people from their homes.
The dispute with Congress was one of several troublesome issues, in addition to Iraq and Afghanistan, dogging the White House as the new year arrived.
At the same time as he noted Bush's statement on the Sudan measure, White House Deputy Press Secretary Scott Stanzel drew attention to a State Department declaration that North Korea had failed to meet the Dec. 31 deadline established with its negotiating partners to disclose details of its nuclear weapons program.
In addition, the administration sought to press Pakistan after last week's assassination of opposition leader Benazir Bhutto to set and stick to a specific date for elections, and offered U.S. assistance in investigating the assassination. The careful path the administration is treading reflects the importance it attaches to stability in Pakistan, a key ally in the fight against Al Qaeda and Taliban fighters along the border with Afghanistan, while also seeking to encourage the nation to move toward democracy.
The president's concern over the Sudan measure centers on a provision that allows state and local governments, as well as mutual funds, private pension funds and other private investment groups, to divest from companies doing at least $20 million in business with mining, oil, power and military-equipment industries in Sudan.
The Save Darfur Coalition and other Darfur activist groups have said the legislation "presents a stark choice: Stop enabling genocide in Darfur or lose our business. The people of Darfur cannot afford an empty 'law on the books,' which is why the president must vigorously enforce this critical legislation."
The activist groups said that nine companies -- among them Swiss energy company ABB, German engineering giant Siemens, Rolls Royce and Netherlands Antilles oil firm Schlumberger -- had "ceased operations in Sudan or significantly changed their behavior" since the legislation was introduced. Since 2005, 22 states and more than 50 universities have adopted Sudan divestment policies, they added.
The new law shields governments and private investment firms from investors' lawsuits if they get rid of shares in the companies, and also prohibits the federal government from giving contracts to the firms. The provisions concerning state and local governments were the ones that raised constitutional issues.
Bush said that such decisions by state and local governments "could interfere with implementation" of U.S. foreign policy -- a role, he noted, that the Constitution assigns to the federal government. The Justice and State departments raised these concerns in letters to Republican and Democratic leaders this fall.
Asked whether that meant Bush would ignore or try to circumvent the provisions with which he disagreed, Stanzel said, "Well, yes, to the extent that actions taken interfere with the federal government's foreign policy aims."
He said the president signed the bill because "we support the overall goal and we support efforts to address the problem in Darfur, in Sudan."
Egypt to send 1,200 troops to UN peacekeeping force in Darfur
CAIRO, Egypt (AP) -- Egypt is sending 1,200 troops to the joint U.N.-African Union peacekeeping force in Darfur that just took over the wartorn region, the country's presidential spokesman said Tuesday.
President Hosni Mubarak is to inspect the troops on
Wednesday, spokesman Suleiman Awwad told reporters, after which the troops will likely soon depart for Darfur. The announcement followed talks here between Mubarak and visiting Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi, whose country in October hosted Darfur peace talks that failed.
On Monday, a new hybrid U.N.-AU peacekeeping force took over in Darfur -- a long-awaited change intended to be the strongest effort yet to solve the world's worst humanitarian crisis.
Chad denies it staged raids against Sudan
NDJAMENA, Dec 30, 2007 (AFP) - Chad said Sunday it was "outraged" at Sudanese claims it had carried out air and land operations against Khartoum Friday, in the latest round of verbal sparring between the two neighbours.
"Contrary to Sudanese allegations, the Chadian army never crossed the border to carry out land operations inside Sudanese territory," Chad Foreign Minister Ahmat Allami said in a statement.
Allami also denied Sudanese claims that the Chadian
airforce had bombarded two areas of conflict-torn Darfur, just across Chad's borders, saying the airforce had simply carried out "a few" operations within its borders targeting mercenaries coming from Sudan.
Khartoum said Saturday it had protested to the United Nations Security Council against the alleged Chadian raids and said it reserved the right to respond to the attacks where and when it saw fit.
Tension between the African neighbours has risen as the European Union is due to start deploying up to 4,000 troops to Chad and the Central African Republic to help deal with the refugee crisis stemming from Darfur.
Ndjamena has protested to Sudan twice recently over what it says is Khartoum's support for rebels battling Chadian government forces in the east of the country.
Sudan denies aiding the rebels.
For his part, Allami also dismissed Sudanese allegations Chad had allowed Sudanese rebels to hold a meeting on its territory.
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