Pope says world must do more to end Darfur “horror”

Nov 28, 2005 (VATICAN CITY) — Pope Benedict told the Archbishop of Khartoum on Monday the world must do more to end conflict in west Sudan’s Darfur region, where tens of thousands have been killed and over two million forced from their homes.

“The horror of events unfolding in Darfur … points to the need for a stronger international resolve to ensure security and basic human rights,” the Pope told Gabriel Zubeir Wako at a meeting in the Vatican.

A new round of peace talks between the Sudanese government and rebel groups who took up arms in early 2003 is due to start in Nigeria’s capital Abuja on Tuesday, but violence on the ground has been growing worse in recent months.

U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan said last week that killing and rape in Darfur had increased in September and October and the region was descending into complete lawlessness.

The government is accused of arming Arab militias, known as Janjaweed, who kill, rape and burn down villages. The United States has called the violence genocide, a charge Khartoum denies.

Observers see little chance of any significant progress at the Abuja talks, partly because of deepening divisions within the ranks of the rebels.

(Reuters)