Two U.S. lawmakers to visit displaced villagers in W. Sudan
KHARTOUM, Sudan, June 26, 2004 (AP) — Two U.S. Republican senators are due to arrive in Sudan on Saturday to inspect the humanitarian crisis in the embattled Darfur region, Sudan’s Foreign Ministry and a U.S. Embassy official said.
Sam Brownback, from Kansas, and Frank Wolf, from Virginia, are the first U.S. lawmakers to visit Darfur, scene of a 16-month conflict between black African villagers and Arab militiamen that has reportedly left 30,000 people dead and forced more than 1 million to flee their homes.
A U.S. Embassy official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the senators would arrive in Khartoum late Saturday and travel to Darfur, in western Sudan, on Sunday.
Wolf, chairman of the subcommittee that controls the Justice Department’s budget, and Brownback are scheduled to visit internally displaced camps housing thousands of villagers in El Fasher, capital of Sudan’s North Darfur state, a Sudanese Foreign Ministry official told The Associated Press on condition of anonymity.
The congressmen are also expected to meet members of the African Union committee that is monitoring the cease-fire agreement signed by the government and Darfur’s two rebel groups — the Justice and Equality Movement and the Sudan Liberation Army in April.
They are also scheduled to meet government officials, including Sudanese Foreign Minister Mustafa Osman Ismail.
Their visit comes ahead of a similar trip planned for next week by U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell and U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan to press Sudan’s government to end the fighting.
Foreign governments and human rights groups accuse Sudan’s Islamic-oriented government of backing Arab militia in an ethnic cleansing campaign against the African villagers.
Sudanese officials reject the claims and say the two warring parties are clashing over land and water resources.
Despite the cease-fire’s signing, both sides have accused the other of violating the truce.
In Ireland during an EU-U.S. summit Saturday, the European Union and the United States issued a joint statement strongly condemning the violence and called for a lasting peace agreement between warring factions.
“We strongly condemn the human rights violations that have been perpetrated there,” the statement said. “Those responsible for the atrocities must be held accountable.”
They urged warring factions to “initiate a dialogue” to help resolve the problems which led to the fighting and called for all sides to allow humanitarian aid workers safe access to the area.
The statement comes after both the 25-nation EU and the United States have boosted efforts to bring an end to the crisis in Sudan.
On Friday, Annan raised the possibility of sending international troops to Darfur in case the Sudanese government was unable ensure the safety of the civilians in the area.