Annan demands Khartoum disarm Darfur militias

KHARTOUM, July 2 (AFP) — UN Secretary General Kofi Annan demanded here that Khartoum disarm state-sponored Arab militias accused of sparking a humanitarian crisis in the western region of Darfur.

He said he had obtained assurances from Sudanese President Omar al-Beshir that those responsible for human rights abuses in Darfur would be arrested.

“The violence must stop… The Janjawid (militias) must be disarmed,” Annan told a press conference after talks with Beshir in Khartoum.

Annan had seen the human impact of the crisis first-hand, making visits to Darfur itself and refugee camps in neighbouring Chad after a first stop here earlier this week.

“I was deeply moved by the many accounts of immense suffering,” he said, adding that attacks were continuing.

At least 10,000 people have been killed there since fighting broke out in February last year, when black African rebel groups rose up against the Arab government in Khartoum.

The United Nations has labelled the situation in Darfur the world’s worst ongoing humanitarian crisis.

Describing the situation in the camps, Annan said they were in “a deplorable state” and he said he had stressed to the Sudanese authorities how important it was “to find a political settlement to the Darfur issue very very quickly”.

“They all tell me the same stories of indiscriminate attacks in recent months by armed militias,” he said.

“Some refugees told me that helicopters gunships participated in the attacks,” he said. “The government of Sudan was slow in granting access of humanitarian aid,” he added.

The UN chief said Beshir had made a number of assurances to him, including a pledge to arrest and prosecute those involved in human rights abuses in the region and compensate victims.

The Sudanese president also renewed a promise to ease obstacles to the flow of humanitarian aid from abroad, but Annan made no secret of his dismay that Khartoum had failed to act sooner.

Asked what would happen if the Sudanese government did not fulfil these commitments, Annan said: “I cannot indicate or say what the Security Council might do”.

“If there is a problem we will get to that,” he said.

The UN leader also warned of the lack of funds available to get to grips with the situation in Darfur, saying that the UN had less than half what it needed to avoid a famine in Darfur and Chad.