British foreign minister arrives in troubled Darfur
LONDON, Aug 24 (AFP) — British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw arrived in Sudan’s violence-plagued western region of Darfur to see the plight of refugees driven from their homes by state-sponsored militias.
An official in the North Darfur state governor’s office said Straw had talks with governor Osman Mohammed Kibr before heading for the Abu Shouk displaced persons’ camp.
Kibr “described the humanitarian situation in the region and the efforts of the Sudanese government to deal with it,” the official said.
The foreign minister, who is on a two-day trip to Sudan, was due to meet some of the more than 40,000 refugees at the camp, as well as aid workers, before returning to Khartoum for talks with President Omar al-Beshir.
Straw arrived in Khartoum on Monday, the first day of peace talks in the Nigerian capital Abuja between the government and rebel movements in the wake of a ceasefire, and met with his Sudanese counterpart, Mustafa Osman Ismail.
At a joint press conference, Straw stressed that Britain had no plans to deploy troops to Sudan, but said his country stood ready to support the African Union military presence in the region which is moitoring the ceasefire.
“We have absolutely no plans to put in contingents of British troops,” Straw said at a joint news conference with Ismail.
“What we have done is to provide military expertise to the African Union,” he added.
Beshir’s government has been roundly criticised abroad for failing to disarm Arab militias accused of mounting a reign of terror in Darfur against black African villagers suspected of supporting the rebels.
UN officials say up to 50,000 people have so far died in Darfur and another 1.4 million fled their homes. Of those, approaching 200,000 have sought refuge in neighbouring Chad.
The UN Security Council some three weeks ago gave Khartoum until Sunday to rein in the militias or face international action over their depredations, which the world body says have sparked the world’s worst current humanitarian crisis.
Straw said he would report back on his visit to UN Secretary General Kofi Annan.
At the weekend, the Sudanese government acknowledged for the first time that its militia allies had committed serious human rights abuses, including rape, against Darfur civilians.
It handed over a list of 30 suspects to an envoy of the UN Commission for Human Rights.
On Tuesday the pro-government Al-Anbaa daily said Khartoum had banned the possesssion of firearms by individuals or groups in the three states of Darfur, other than the organised security forces.
“Security forces will deal decisively with any individual or group that violates the directives issued regarding this matter,” the paper said, referring to a decree issued by Interior Minister General Abul Rahim Mohammed Hussein, Beshir’s special representative for Darfur.
It said the measure was in line with a Darfur plan of action signed on August 5 between the Sudanese government and Annan’s representative for Sudan Jan Pronk.
Under the deal, Khartoum committed itself to a series of measures as part of its plan to implement the UN demands.
The government had earlier provided a list of 11 safe zones in the region where victims of the pro-government Janjaweed militias could take refuge.
At Monday’s news conference, Ismail claimed Khartoum was living up to its commitment to the international community, particularly with regard to restoring law and order and reining in the marauding Arab militias.
“There is also consensus that the government of Sudan has lifted all restrictions and now the flow of humanitarian aid is reaching most of the Darfur area,” he said.
Straw agreed that aid organisations “are reporting a considerable improvement in the humanitarian access to the Darfur region.”