CAIRO: Egypt s main opposition group the Muslim Brotherhood on Thursday criticized the United States for pushing a UN resolution on sending peacekeepers to the troubled Sudanese region of Darfur. The United States and Western countries which are allied to it are aiming, through the resolution … at igniting the situation in the Darfur region in order to occupy it, said the group s spiritual leader, Mohammad Mahdi Akef. The UN Security Council adopted a resolution a week ago calling for the deployment of up to 20,000 forces to replace the ill-equipped, cash-strapped African Union forces in Darfur, but this has been vehemently opposed by Khartoum. It is a question of a new attempt at taking on the Muslim world (in order to) finally arrive at Mecca and Medina, said Akef. Akef, a respected figure in Sunni Islam, said he was frustrated at what he regarded as a policy of double standards in the region. The Palestinian people have been exposed for 50 years to a war aiming to destroy them, but nobody speaks about deployment of an international force there. In Darfur, there is an exaggeration of certain exceptional facts, and the international media, which does not have any regard for objectivity, takes part in this campaign, he added. Analysts say that Egypt is becoming increasingly irritated with Akef s inflammatory rhetoric about the regime, which made a series of arrests of Muslim Brothers last month. The Muslim Brotherhood claims to be a non-violent organization. It is officially illegal but has been tolerated by the authorities and its candidates secured a fifth of the seats in parliament in elections last year. U.S. President George W. Bush recently accused the Arab militia known as Janjaweed of genocide in Darfur, where it has fought against rebels since 2003. The conflict has claimed between 180,000 and 300,000 lives and left more than 2.4 million people homeless. AFP
Opposition lashes out at U.S. over Darfur
