Sudan demands United Nations immediately lift arms embargo

Sudan is demanding the U.N. Security Council immediately lift an arms embargo and other sanctions imposed during violence in the western Darfur region in 2005, saying the punishment did not include conditions or require the military government to meet U.N. benchmarks.
Sudan’s U.N. ambassador, Al-Harith Idriss Mohamed, said in a letter to the council circulated Friday that the sanctions “are no longer relevant to the magnificent reality on the ground in Darfur today compared to the situation in 2005.”
“Darfur has, for the most part, overcome the state of war, as well as previous security and political challenges,” he said.