Darfur refugees in UK demand more money for peacekeeping

LONDON, May 2, 2005 (AP) — More than 200 refugees from Darfur Monday protested outside U.K. Prime Minister Tony Blair’s office, demanding an expanded peacekeeping force in the troubled Sudanese region.

Darfur refugees in Netherlands demonstrate on Friday 29 April. Another demonstration was organized in Italy en favor of Darfur in the same Friday. (ST).

Protesters brandished placards bearing names of those who have died in more than two years of conflict. Others lay in the street to symbolize the dead, chanting “sanctions against Sudan ‘s killer leaders.”

The protesters are demanding another GBP30 million to expand the African Union peacekeeping force in Darfur.

“The people in Darfur are crying out for peace, and I feel their pain because the same happened to me some years back,” said Sudanese rap star Emmanuel Jal, 25, who was drafted into the rebel Sudan People’s Liberation Army at the age of eight. “The British are respected in Sudan , and we believe the British can play a part in bringing peace to my troubled country.”

The Darfur conflict broke out in February 2003 after rebels took up arms, complaining of discrimination by Sudan ‘s Arab-dominated government. The government is accused of responding by backing a scorched-earth counterinsurgency by Arab militias, known as the Janjaweed.

More than 180,000 people have died, many by war-induced hunger and disease, according to U.N. estimates. At least 2 million people have been made homeless.

“At the moment, they have a pitiful number of soldiers in an area the size of France,” said Rebecca Tinsley, director of the campaign group Waging Peace, which organized the protest.

“We want to get money to the African Union so that Africa can solve its own problems.”

Last month, the African Union agreed to increase its force in Darfur from 2,200 to more than 7,700.

The U.N.’s special envoy to Sudan , Jan Pronk, says the force should be increased to 12,000; protesters argued Monday for an extra 30,000 troops.

The protest ended peacefully after about 45 minutes.