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Meet on African crises

BANJUL (Gambia): African leaders opened a summit addressing their continent's many woes on Saturday while offering a special welcome to the firebrand Presidents of Iran and Venezuela, each seeking support for anti-American agendas. Gambian President Yahya Jammeh hailed the presence of Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez and Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad at the summit of the 53-nation African Union as ``a morale booster as well as an assurance that Africa can make it.'' African Union Commission Chairman Alpha Oumar Konare directed delegates' attention to the official agenda's most-pressing points: ``Today we are being summoned urgently to look at the situation in Darfur, Sudan, and Somalia,'' where a hard-line Islamist regime is increasingly holding sway. He blamed rampant poverty for Africa's crises. ``There is no doubt that the conflict situations faced by our continent can be explained by its lack of development,'' said Mr. Konare. He charged the African leaders with standing up to fighters who rape and kill people, saying victims are ``treated worse than animals.'' — AP

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