US remains concerned about violence in Darfur, Sudan
WASHINGTON, Jan 10, 2005 (Xinhua) — The United States remains concerned about violence in the Darfur region, Sudan, White House spokesman Scott McClellan said here on Monday.
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A girl rests against a flimsy shack at Abushouk camp near El Fasher, the capital of North Darfur state, October 31, 2004. (Reuters). |
“We remain concerned about violence in the Darfur region, and we remain concerned about the ability of humanitarian aid to flow freely to those displaced persons in the region,” McClellan told a news brfiefing.
McClellan made the remarks after the Sudanese government and the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement signed a final comprehensive peace accord in Nairobi, Keneya on Sunday, culminating two years of peace process to end the 21-year-old civil war in southern Sudan, the longest-running in Africa.
“We do commend the (Sudanese) government and the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement for signing the comprehensive peace agreement, ” McClellan said, “But the conflict in the Darfur region continues, and this agreement can serve as an inspiration and model for both sides in that region toward resolving this in a peaceful way.”
The US expects all parties in the Darfur region “to live up their cease-fire commitments, to end the atrocities, ” the spokesman added.
Fighting broke out in Darfur in February 2003 when two non-Arab African groups began a rebellion. The Sudanese government responded by backing Arab militias.
More than 70,000 people were reportedly killed in the violence or have died from hunger and disease in the area.