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| US President Barack Obama |
The Sudanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs
issued a statement on Saturday condemning the use of chemical weapons in Syria
against innocent civilians and expressing regret for the loss of lives that
resulted.
This marks the first response by
Khartoum to the alleged use of chemical weapons in rebel-held suburbs of
Damascus which the west blames on Syrian government forces that is believed to
possess the largest stockpile of chemical weapons in the region.
A United Nations team left Damascus on
Saturday carrying evidence and samples relating to the attack. They are to
determine whether chemical weapons were used but will not make a finding to
which side is to blame.
Syria and its main ally, Russia, claim
that it was rebels who carried out the gas attack as a provocation.
Sudan’s statement today does not place
blame on any side but strongly cautions against foreign military intervention
under any circumstances.
“At the same time, Sudan, in line with
its principal stances of rejecting foreign interference in the affairs of
[other] states, and based on the public positions of the Arab League in
stopping foreign intervention in Syria, announces its rejection of any foreign
military intervention in Syria, whatever the justifications, and believes that
Israel will be the primary beneficiary such interference,” read the statement
carried by state media.
“Sudan again calls on all Syrian
parties not to allow external forces that are lurking at their country the
opportunity to exploit their differences to achieve their own goals even if it
led to the destruction of Syria” the foreign ministry said.
The ministry appealed to all parties
in Syria “to pursue peaceful and political means to resolve the current crisis”
adding that foreign military intervention in Syria “will further complicate the
crisis”.
Earlier today, the US embassy in
Khartoum released a statement saying it is clear that Syria carried out the
chemical attack and urged Sudan to denounce it.
"We urge Sudan to join us in
condemning publicly the Syrian government’s use of chemical weapons and in
urging the international community to hold the regime accountable for this
violation of a bedrock international norm" the US embassy said.
US president Barack Obama said today
that he approved military action to punish Damascus for the use of poison gas
against civilians.
Washington released an intelligence
assessment on Friday saying that the regime of Bashar al-Assad launched the
attack which it claimed killed 1,429 people including at least 426 children.
Obama said that he will put the use of
force against Syria before US lawmakers to vote on it to the frustration of
Syrian rebels and many of US allies in the region such as Israel, Turkey and
Saudi Arabia.
Despite Khartoum’s rejection of
foreign meddling in Syria’s affairs, the New York Times (NYT) uncovered this
month what it said was a scheme by which Sudan would sell Chinese and
local-made weapons to Qatar which in turn has been shipping it to rebels in
Syria.
Officials in Khartoum speaking to NYT,
vehemently denied the claims but nonetheless said that if Sudan’s weapons were
indeed seen with Syria’s rebels then perhaps Libya had provided them.
Sudan assisted Libyan rebels fighting
against Gaddafi in 2011 by providing weapons and also allowed NATO to use
Sudanese airspace during the enforcement of a No Fly Zone there, according to
Western military officials at the time.
However, the NYT argued that this
would not explain the Sudanese-made 7.62x39-millimeter ammunition this year in
rebel possession near the Syrian city of Idlib.
The ammunition, according to its
stamped markings, was made in Sudan in 2012 — after the war in Libya had ended.
It was used by Soquor al-Sham, an Islamist group that recognizes the
Western-supported Syrian National Coalition’s military command.
Also it would not explain the presence
of FN-6 antiaircraft missiles in Syrian rebel units. Neither the Gaddafi
loyalists nor the rebels in Libya were known to possess those weapons in 2011,
analysts who track missile proliferation told NYT.
The Sudanese government have initially
called events in Syria a conspiracy caused by foreign meddling but later sided
with Arab League resolution in November 2011 suspending Damascus from the
Pan-Arab body.
Sudan also convinced Mauritania and
Somalia to back it, according to diplomats who spoke to Reuters at the time.
The Arab League is expected to meet in
Cairo on Sunday for discussions on Syria and is expected to come under heavy
pressure from Saudi Arabia to back US strikes.
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