Sudan’s ambassador challenges US to intervene in Darfur for genocide

UNITED NATIONS, Oct 6, 2004 (AP) — Sudan’s U.N. ambassador challenged the United States to send troops to the Darfur region if it really believes a genocide is taking place as the U.S. Congress and President George W. Bush’s administration have determined.

Elfatih Mohamed Erwa was asked Tuesday about the effect of the U.S. “genocide” designations when both Bush and his Democratic challenger John Kerry ruled out sending U.S. troops to end the 19-month conflict in their debate Thursday.

“If it is really a genocide they should be committed to send troops,” the Sudanese ambassador said. “This is why I don’t think they’re genuine about its being genocide.”

Would U.S. troops really be welcome?

“I won’t say that I welcome them because I don’t have the authority to say that, but if they want to do that, let them talk to us,” Erwa said.

U.S. Ambassador John Danforth, when told that Erwa raised the possibility of discussing the deployment of U.S. troops, said: “I’ve never heard of such a thing before. It’s certainly an attention grabber.”

“It’s a curious idea, but I don’t think it has a future,” he said.

Violence broke out when two non-Arab Darfur rebel movements took up arms in February 2003 against government installations, saying they wanted a bigger share of power and Sudan ‘s resources. More than 50,000 people have been killed and 1.4 million driven from their homes in what the United Nations says is the world’s worst humanitarian crisis.

The 1948 genocide convention defines that act as a calculated effort to destroy a national, ethnic, racial or religious group in whole or in part.

Last month, the U.S. State Department said that in recent interviews with 1,136 Darfur refugees in neighboring Chad it found a “consistent and widespread pattern of atrocities committed against non-Arab villagers.” It added that about a third of the refugees who were interviewed heard racial epithets while under attack.