Ban Ki-moon begins Sudan visit
Ban Ki-moon is visiting east Africa
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Monday, 03, Sep 2007 07:28
UN secretary general Ban Ki-moon has arrived in Sudan on a low-key visit to the crisis-struck country.
Its Darfur region has seen about two million people displaced and around 200,000 die as a result of its conflicts in the last four years.
Mr Ban will meet with Sudanese president Omar al-Bashir and visit a refugee camp to experience first-hand the situation on his latest trip.
He said last week he wanted to "lock in" previous progress and "create the foundations of a lasting peace so that the "terrible trauma" could cease.
Some say the trip will result in the announcement of renewed peace negotgiations between Khartoum and some rebel groups in Darfur, but UN insiders have indicated to reporters that expectations remain low for this trip.
The UN security council approved a resolution for the deployment of 26,000 troops to Darfur last month, creating – with existing African Union forces – the world's largest peacekeeping force.
The force has yet to be fully manned, however, and is not expected to be deployed until next year.
Mr Ban will also visit south Sudan, neighbouring Chad and Libya on his trip.