SYG BAN PRESSES SUDAN TO ACCEPT HYBRID FORCE IN

C O N F I D E N T I A L USUN NEW YORK 000886 SIPDIS SIPDIS IO AND AF FOR FRONT OFFICE; PLEASE PASS TO SE NATSIOS E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/18/2017 TAGS: PGOV PHUM PREL SU SUBJECT: SYG BAN PRESSES SUDAN TO ACCEPT HYBRID FORCE IN DARFUR Classified By: Ambassador Zalmay M. Khalilzad, per 1.4 (b) and (d). ¶1. (C) During a meeting with Ambassador Khalilzad on October 18, SYG Ban Ki-Moon said he had urged AU Chair Konare, as well as Nigerian, Egyptian, Senegalese, and Rwandan officials, to press Sudanese President Bashir to accept the hybrid troops on offer. He also said he plans to urge South Africa and other countries to weigh in with Bashir as well. Although Bashir reportedly still has problems accepting the Thai, Nepalese, and Norwegian contingents of UNAMID, Ban said that Konare had assured him that he would convince the Sudanese leader to go along with these deployments during Konare's upcoming trip to Sudan. Ban noted that he would not be able to attend the upcoming Tripoli conference because of a conflict with a Chief Executives Board (CEB) meeting, and that Jan Eliason had urged him against participating in the initial stages of the conference in any case. Konare, however, would attend, after he receives a separate invitation to the conference. KHALILZAD