MPs from rebellion-hit west Sudan protest failure to end violence

KHARTOUM, Oct 22 (AFP) — Scores of MPs from the rebellion-hit Darfur walked out of parliament Wednesday to protest the Sudanese government’s failure to restore order in the western region, their leader said.

About 65 Darfur MPs walked out of the chamber amid a heated debate about the situation in Darfur with the deputy speaker Abdallah al-Hardallu and others, the head of the group Ahmed Haroun told reporters.

Thirty other deputies followed suit “in solidarity with us,” Haroun added.

“We are protesting the growing instability, insecurity, acts of killing, devastation, displacement and panic that hit our region and the government’s abandonment of its duty to maintain order,” he said.

The “incapable governments of the states” of East, West and North Darfur were left to fend for themselves, said Haroun.

He added that the “continuing displacement (of inhabitants) and crushing famine is not being adequately highlighted in the state media.”

The international community had to “be made aware of what is happening in Darfur and an international appeal for relief has to be made,” said Haroun.

A conflict between rebels and government forces in Darfur, a semi-desert region bordering Chad, has left around 3,000 people dead and another 400,000 displaced since it broke out in February, according to UN estimates.

The rebels complain that the central government has neglected their economic plight.