KHARTOUM: African nations were split yesterday over Sudan’s bid to head the African Union, a move which could scuttle peace talks in the country’s Darfur region and damage Africa’s efforts to improve its image abroad.

Khartoum, which is under fire for human rights abuses, is hosting a two-day AU summit starting tomorrow. Sudan is seeking to take over from Nigeria as chairman, based on a tradition that the summit host becomes the next head.

Sudan says it has East and North Africa’s backing in the AU, where nations tend to work in blocs. But diplomats said southern, central and western African states were working behind the scenes to encourage Sudan to withdraw its bid.

“West African countries are going to ask Sudan to withdraw its candidacy. Southern Africa is also against it,” said one senior West African government official, asking not to be named.

A central African minister also said his region was pushing for a less divisive candidate than Sudan, the only country so far to have nominated itself for the position.

Sudan had kept a low profile on its bid in the run-up to the summit but has embarked on a diplomatic offensive since preparatory meetings began, flooding state-owned media with messages of support for President Omar Hassan al-Bashir.

“Sudan is definitely going to win the support of the African heads of state,” Ali Tamim Fartak, Sudanese presidential adviser, said.

Publicly, ministers say heads of state will decide when they meet. Diplomats said another candidate could emerge or a decision could be deferred, leaving Nigeria to continue as head.

The 53-nation AU, set up in 2002 to encourage democracy, development and human rights across Africa, has won plaudits for sending peacekeepers to Darfur and promoting better governance through a peer review system of African countries.

Analysts say this good work could be undone by choosing Sudan as head when a 7,000-strong AU force is monitoring a shaky ceasefire in Darfur and when the government faces widespread criticism for its handling of the conflict there.

“We think it would be embarrassing even for Sudan itself to assume the chairmanship of the AU. We would hope that Sudan would realise this and withdraw its position,” said one southern African diplomat.

“This is creating divisions. We cannot support this for reasons that are open and very clear. Sudan cannot head the AU while the AU is dealing with Darfur,” the diplomat said.

The US, which has put pressure on Sudan to end fighting in Darfur, said there would be “certain contradictions” if Sudan was chosen when the AU force was trying to protect Sudanese citizens “in part from the government of Sudan”.

Darfur’s two main rebel groups have said they would quit AU-sponsored peace talks in Abuja if Sudan becomes head, although Sudan says Nigeria would still host the talks even if it was no longer chairing the AU. – Reuters