Sudan deliberately intimidates aid workers – US Negroponte
April 23, 2007 (WASHINGTON) — The State Department’s No. 2 official accused the Sudanese government Monday of engaging in a “deliberate campaign of intimidation” against humanitarian aid workers assigned to bring relief to the people of Darfur.
Speaking at a news conference, Negroponte said the number of displaced persons in Sudan, widely reported to be 2.5 million, has been increasing.
He said the health and nutrition situation at camps for the displaced has stabilized and there has been a substantial reduction in malnutrition and mortality rates.
But the situation is “very precarious” and it “would not take much for things to deteriorate dramatically,” he added.
Negroponte said his meeting last week with al-Bashir “was not particularly encouraging.” Any agreement reached with the Sudanese, he said, tends to be grudging and “always leaves questions as to whether they will follow through.”
The U.S. has been pressing the Sudanese to accept deployment of a hybrid U.N.-African Union peacekeeping force of more than 20,000 troops for Darfur, but al-Bashir has balked.
“Time is running out,” Negroponte said, declining comment on how much time the Sudanese have to comply. He said that in addition to accepting peacekeepers, the Sudanese must disarm the Arab militias they have been supporting for more than four years.
The diplomat also took aim at rebel groups in Darfur who have refused to sign a May 2006 peace agreement and who, he said, have continued to attack innocent civilians.
Negroponte’s trip also took him to Chad, Libya and Mauritania. He voiced concern about the deteriorating situation in Chad across border from Sudan and said there are worries that the spillover effect from the Sudan conflict could create the “Darfurization” of eastern Chad.
(AP)