US’s Zoellick – Situation in Darfur still ‘terrible’

KHARTOUM, July 9 (AFP) — A top US official said that the situation in Sudan’s war-torn Darfur region continues to be terrible and called on the government to do more to improve security and access to relief aid.

“It’s still a very terrible situation,” Deputy Secretary of State Robert Zoellick told reporters in Khartoum following his third visit to Darfur in about four months.

“In some of the villages people still face the dangers of Janjaweed coming in… threatening (them) if they try to go to the fields,” he said.

He was referring to Arab militias armed by the government to help put down a rebellion by ethnic minority rebels in the region and have been accused of murder, torture, widespread rape and other abuses against the civilian population.

Zoellick cited a recent UN report that said there was a considerable drop in the mortality rate in Darfur, while emphasising that the situation was still far from normal. “And that is certainly what I saw yesterday.”

He added: “I have also emphasized in a series of discussions particularly the issue of violence against women.”

The US official said he believed that the “government has pulled back its forces from active violence,” but added there were still “danger points,” particularly between government and rebel controlled areas.

He also stressed the need to bring those responsible for atrocities in the region to justice.

“We believe that there should be accountability for criminal actions that rise up to the level of the (International Criminal Court) ICC jurisdiction.”

The UN Security Council has authorized The Hague-based ICC to prosecute the alleged perpetrators of war crimes in Darfur, but Khartoum has refused to hand over 51 suspects on the ICC’s list.

The government says it is capable of handling the cases and has set up its own tribunal to try them.

“It is very important that since people may doubt the credibility of these tribunal processes that they proceed in a way that shows they will also take action against people that committed rape and other attacks on individuals,” Zoellick said.

“I think it is a good step that the government has taken,” the US official noted. He, however, pointed out that “that is not a substitute to the ICC process, but it might be able to complement the process.”

Fighting has raged in Darfur since February 2003, when local groups launched a rebellion in the name of the region’s black African tribes against marginalization by Khartoum’s Arab-dominated government.

The Darfur conflict has claimed between 180,000 and 300,000 lives, with some 2.4 million civilians displaced from their homes, while an additional 200,000 have fled into neighbouring Chad. The United States has described the violence in Darfur as genocide.

Zoellick was among dozens of dignitaries invited to attend the swearing in ceremony of former southern rebel leader John Garang as first vice president under a peace agreement with the government.

“It’s a very important step. But it is vital that we focus on the next step,” he said of the event.

“We need to press forward to keep the momentum,” he added.

Progress was being made on improving ties between Washington and Khartoum, according to Zoellick, but he said that it would be a “step by step process,” depending on the actions of the government.