UN team to Darfur to report back to UN secretary general

ADDIS ABABA, Aug 17 (AFP) — A team sent by UN Secretary General Kofi Annan to assesq African Union (AU) peacekeeping capacity and situation on the ground in the war-torn western Sudan region of Darfur leaves here for New York on Tuesday to report back, UN sources said.

“We have made our tour and have had consultations and discussions with the Government in Khartoum, AU officials and with people on the ground in Darfur, including non-governmental organisations and we are to present our findings and recommendation to the UN Secretary General,” UN spokesman Patrick Cammaert told AFP before leaving Addis Ababa.

In its week-long tour, the UN team visited AU headquarters here, Khartoum and Darfur on a fact-finding mission, in line with a UN Security Council decision that gave Sudan a deadline to disarm Arab militias in Darfur.

“We have agreed with the AU that all press statements be channelled through the AU. I cannot give you details, but this afternoon we have briefed them o, our impression of the situation and we discussed matters that will help us to move forward,” Cammaert said.

Cammaert said the UN team, which arrived in Addis Ababa from Khartoum late on Monday, will be presenting its report to Annan before the weekend.

An AU official confirmed the meeting with the UN team, but declined to comment on the details of their discussions.

The UN estimates that up to 50,000 people have been killed since Sudan’s armed forces and the Janjaweed militia cracked down on minority tribes backing a rebellion, which erupted in Darfur in February 2003. However, the government disputes the figure.

Another 1.2 million people have fled their homes in Sudan and up to 200,000 more have been settled in makeshift camps in neighboring Chad, the United Nations says.