French foreign minister arrives in Sudan’s war-torn Darfur region
KHARTOUM, July 27 (AFP) — French Foreign Minister Michel Barnier arrived in Sudan’s conflict-ridden western region of Darfur where he met with observers from the African Union tasked with overseeing a largely-ignored ceasefire deal, diplomatic sources in Khartoum said.
They added that Barnier also toured a refugee camp at Abu Chouk, near the town of El Fasher, the capital of North Darfur state.
The French minister was to leave the region later Tuesday to return to Ndjamena, the capital of Chad, which borders Darfur to the west and now hosts up to 200,000 Sudanese refugees.
Talks have been scheduled in the Chadian border town of Abeche between Barnier and Chadian President Idriss Deby, who is trying to act as a mediator in the Darfur crisis.
Barnier’s trip came as the international community ratcheted up pressure to end a conflict between Darfur rebels and government-backed militia that has cost up to 50,000 lives and displaced a million people.
France is “very motivated” to resolve the Darfur crisis, Barnier said Monday in the Senegalese capital Dakar at the start of a three-day tour of African countries.
Called the world’s worst humanitarian crisis by the United Nations, more than 1.2 million people have been forced from their homes since February 2003 when rebels rose up against Khartoum, protesting that the largely black African Darfur region had been ignored by the Arab government of the oil-rich state.
France, Britain, the United States and other countries have been exerting increasing pressure on the Sudanese government to rein in pro-government Arab militias which have been accused of systematic rape and other atrocities against the indigenous black Africans living in Darfur.
“Above all there are the men, women and children who must be saved; then there is the security issue, and then a political urgency,” Barnier said Monday, adding that all parties to the conflict must return to the negotiating table.
The European Union on Monday urged the United Nations to pass a resolution warning of sanctions on Sudan if it fails to end the conflict, prompting a reply by the Sudanese foreign minister that “threats” were counter-productive.
The prospect of international intervention has grown sharply in recent days.
Britain has said it could send 5,000 troops to the region if required, and Australia said it was considering a UN request for military personnel to join a mission there expected to be deployed by the end of the year.
But the United States said Monday that security in Darfur was Khartoum’s responsibility, ruling out for the moment calls for an international peacekeeping force even as it piled more pressure on the Sudanese government for immediate action.
Washington last Thursday put forward a draft UN Security Council resolution authorizing sanctions against Sudan if militia leaders are not brought to justice, while the US Congress unanimously labelled the situation a “genocide”.
Sudan has claimed it is taking steps against the militias and pledged to help humanitarian aid get to the region.