Darfur tragedy is “unacceptable” – Ban Ki-moon

Dec 13, 2006 (UNITED NATIONS) — Ban Ki-moon of South Korea, who was sworn in as the next UN chief, described the tragedy in Sudan’s Darfur region as “unacceptable” and pledged to be personally engaged in efforts to end the bloodshed there.

“The suffering of the people of Darfur is simply unacceptable,” the 62-year-old former foreign minister told his first press conference since he took the oath office earlier Thursday to succeed Kofi Annan on January 1.

Ban said he planned to “make himself directly and personally engaged” in the search for a Darfur settlement.

He said he would consult with outgoing UN chief Kofi Annan who has been leading efforts to persuade Khartoum to accept the deployment of a robust UN force to takeover peacekeeping from ill-equipped African Union troops in Darfur.

Reiterating that there was “no military solution” to the crisis, Ban said the United Nations needed to work closely with the AU, the Sudanese government and other stakeholders to address all aspects of the issue.

The United Nations estimates that some 200,000 people have died and more than two million have been forced to flee their homes since the conflict between Khartoum and local rebels in Darfur began in 2003.

(AFP)