G8 calls on Sudan to disarm gangs in Darfur

SAVANNAH, Ga., June 10 (Reuters) – Group of Eight leaders on Thursday urged Sudan’s government to immediately disarm Arab militias and other armed groups waging a campaign of looting, burning and rape in the remote western Darfur region.

A statement issued at the G8 summit in Georgia said the group looked to the United Nations to lead the international effort to avert “a major disaster” in Darfur, where about 1 million people have been displaced in what aid officials call one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises.

“We call especially on the Sudanese government to disarm immediately the Janjaweed and other armed groups which are responsible for massive human rights violations in Darfur,” said the G8 — the United States, Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Canada and Russia.

“There are continuing reports of gross violations of human rights, many with an ethnic dimension,” the statement said.

“We call on all parties to the conflict to immediately and fully respect the ceasefire, allow unimpeded humanitarian access to all those in need, and create the conditions for the displaced to return safely to their homes.”

The statement was issued ahead of talks in Sea Island, Georgia, on Thursday between G8 members and a delegation of African leaders invited to the summit.

The G8 said it welcomed a power-sharing deal signed on May 26 between the government and the Sudan People’s Liberation Army/Movement (SPLA/M) but said it needed to be finalized and implemented as soon as possible.

These accords do not cover the separate civil war raging in Darfur.