Sudan asks EU to support weapons collection campaign

Sudan yesterday asked the European Union to provide political and technical support for a campaign to collect weapons from local residents and armed groups in Darfur which began two months ago.

This came during a meeting between Sudanese Vice President Hasabo Mohamed Abdul Rahman and EU Ambassador in Khartoum Jean-Michel Dumond.

The two officials discussed issues of “peace, combating human trafficking and drugs, and reducing tribal conflicts” the Sudanese news agency reported.

“Collecting weapons, implicitly supports the fight against human trafficking and drugs and the reduction of tribal conflicts,” the Sudanese official is reported to have said.

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After the meeting, Director of the European Affairs Department at the Sudanese Foreign Ministry Ambassador Khalid Musa said that Dumon has confirmed the Union’s support for the Sudanese efforts to collect firearms.

In August, the Sudanese government launched a wide scale campaign to collect unlicensed weapons and vehicles in the West Darfur State.