Foreign Desk

This article is from the archive of The New York Sun before the launch of its new website in 2022. The Sun has neither altered nor updated such articles but will seek to correct any errors, mis-categorizations or other problems introduced during transfer.

The New York Sun
NY Sun
NEW YORK SUN CONTRIBUTOR

NORTH AFRICA


GOVERNMENT FORCES BLOCKADE DARFUR CAMPS


Government-backed forces blocked off several refugee camps in Sudan’s Darfur region, shutting the camps off to foreign aid workers and apparently planning to relocate them in violation of agreements with the United Nations and others.


Secretary-General Annan’s special representative to Sudan, Jan Pronk, called the action a “flagrant violation of international humanitarian law and agreements” that Khartoum has signed. Mr. Pronk told reporters here yesterday that refugees in a camp called Elgeer, near the city of Nyala, were moved to another location, Sherif, and were told that this was done in close consultation with the U.N. He denied any such consultations took place. “I still leave open the possibility that this is action on the ground, and not on instructions coming from the Khartoum government,” Mr. Pronk said. But workers with the World Food Program and other aid agencies said that Sudanese police and military surrounded several camps in the area in the middle of the night, not allowing anyone in.


Khartoum denied the report. “There is no siege,” Sudanese Humanitarian Affairs minister, Ibrahim Hamid told the Associated Press. “It is not true that the government was telling organizations to pull out of the area, and the areas are not besieged.” He laid the blame for the flare-up on anti-government rebel forces, which last week kidnapped 18 Arabs in Darfur. A WFP official, however, told The New York Sun that there is an escalation in violence mostly through old tactics favored by the government-backed horse-and- camel-mounted forces known as Janjaweed, that include executions, rape, and intimidation.


– Special to the Sun


WESTERN EUROPE


ARAFAT RECOVERS ENOUGH TO UNDERGO FURTHER TESTS


CLAMART, France – Tests on Yasser Arafat showed problems with his digestion, but the Palestinian Arab leader has recovered sufficiently to undergo examinations that could not have been done when he was first rushed to France, an aide said yesterday. Mr. Arafat, 75, felt well enough to follow the American election, and over the past two days was able to talk with doctors, colleagues, and heads of state, Palestinian Arab officials said. Nevertheless, there was still no public information about the cause of his dramatic deterioration in health. Leila Shahid, the Palestinian envoy to France, said tests showed an improvement in Mr. Arafat’s white blood cell count but also “persistent abnormalities” in indicators for digestive function. Initial tests had “confirmed an abnormal blood count, high white blood-cell count, and low platelet count and ruled out the diagnosis of leukemia,” she said.


– Associated Press


WITNESSES: BIN LADEN SPOKE OF ATTACKING U.S. BEFORE STRIKES


Osama bin Laden spoke months before the September 11 attacks of a strike against America and said there would be “thousands of dead,” a Jordanian-born man who says he served briefly as the Al Qaeda leader’s bodyguard testified yesterday.


Shadi Abdellah, 28, took the stand at the retrial of Mounir el Motassadeq, a Moroccan accused of helping the September 11 hijackers when they lived and studied in Hamburg. “Bin Laden said he wanted to fight the Americans,” said Mr. Abdellah, who spent time at an Al Qaeda training camp near Kandahar. In early 2001, he said, “Bin Laden spoke in a speech of an attack against the United States and said there would be thousands of dead.” Mr. Abdellah says he was one of Mr. bin Laden’s bodyguards for about two weeks at the beginning of a stay in Afghanistan that lasted from early 2000 to May 2001. His testimony echoed evidence he gave at Mr. el Motassadeq’s first trial two years ago. He said Mr. bin Laden gave no details, and added that specific attacks or plans were not discussed at the camp. “When there was an attack, we weren’t told,” said Mr. Abdellah, who spoke in Arabic through an interpreter. “They just said to us, ‘pray for your brothers.’ “


– Associated Press


PERSIAN GULF


UAE PRESIDENT, SHEIK ZAYED BIN SULTAN AL NAHYAN, DIES AT 86


The president of the United Arab Emirates, who oversaw the transformation of a cluster of tiny desert Persian Gulf sheikdoms into a leading oil and business hub with skyscrapers and sprawling shopping malls, has died. He was 86. Sheik Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, one of the richest rulers in the world according to Forbes magazine, forged close ties with America and the West during his rule of the country, which is the world’s ninth-largest oil producer. Zayed was expected to be succeeded by his eldest son, Sheik Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan. The leaders of the seven emirates that make up the country will appoint the new president within 30 days. In the meantime, the prime minister – Sheik Maktoum bin Rashid Al Maktoum, a close relative of Zayed – will serve as acting president. During the president’s illness, Mr. Maktoum has been the public face of the Emirates. Abu Dhabi TV interrupted regular broadcasting to break the news of the death of the man who led the United Arab Emirates since its independence from Britain in 1971.


– Associated Press


CENTRAL ASIA


AFGHAN KIDNAPPERS THREATEN TO KILL HOSTAGES


KABUL, Afghanistan – A Taliban splinter group threatening to kill three foreign U.N. hostages said yesterday there was “some flexibility” about their demands, which include the world body’s withdrawal from Afghanistan. Government officials were optimistic the Iraq-style abduction could end with the foreigners’ release but said they had no contact with the kidnappers one day before a deadline on the hostages’ fate. Jaishal Muslimeen, or Army of Muslims, claimed it abducted Annetta Flanigan of Northern Ireland, Filipino diplomat Angelito Nayan, and Shqipe Habibi of Kosovo in the Afghan capital Thursday.


– Associated Press


EAST ASIA


ACCUSED U.S. ARMY DESERTER PLEADS GUILTY


CAMP ZAMA, Japan – Sergeant Charles Robert Jenkins pleaded guilty today to deserting the American Army in 1965, saying that he wanted to avoid “hazardous” duty on the Korean peninsula and Vietnam. The plea was apparently part of a bargain with American military officials to win the frail 64-year-old a lesser sentence. Jenkins vanished from his post and lived in North Korea for 39 years. Jenkins also pleaded guilty to aiding the enemy by teaching North Koreans English in the 1980s. He denied that he advocated the overthrow of America and pleaded innocent to charges of making disloyal statements.


– Associated Press

NY Sun
NEW YORK SUN CONTRIBUTOR

This article is from the archive of The New York Sun before the launch of its new website in 2022. The Sun has neither altered nor updated such articles but will seek to correct any errors, mis-categorizations or other problems introduced during transfer.


The New York Sun

© 2025 The New York Sun Company, LLC. All rights reserved.

Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. The material on this site is protected by copyright law and may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used.

The New York Sun

Sign in or  Create a free account

or
By continuing you agree to our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use