Sudan’s Darfur to remain dangerous place – US’s Zoellick

May 5, 2006 (WASHINGTON) — Deputy Secretary of State Robert Zoellick, who helped spur negotiators to agree to stop the killing in Darfur, said Friday the embattled East African country is far from safe even if the peace agreement should take hold.

Zoellick also said the United States had asked Rwanda to send in 1,200 troops to supplement the 7,000 African Union monitors already in place.

Speaking to reporters by telephone from Abuja, Nigeria, where the drawn-out talks ended in Friday’s signing, Zoellick said that he hoped for a significant decline in violence.

Nevertheless, he said, Darfur “is going to remain a dangerous place. There is still a lot of distrust and fear.”

In response to questions, Zoellick said there were “spoilers still there.”

“That is a reality and certainly a danger,” he said.

At the same time, Zoellick said, “there is a lot of sense of trying to have a new start for the people of Darfur.”

President Bush intervened during the difficult negotiations, sending a letter to the largest rebel group, Minni Minnawi, with assurances that the United States would give strong support to implementation of the peace accord, assist monitoring compliance, hold accountable those who do not cooperate and support a donors’ conference for Darfur, Zoellick said.

The deputy secretary said he read the letter to the assembled parties during the night.

A cease-fire is supposed to take effect in seven days, and the government is required within 37 days to complete a plan to move armed militia to restricted areas, remove heavy weapons and for disarmament of the warring groups.

“There will be a push definitely to move forward the U.N. peacekeeping force,” he said. However, a rainy season in June will delay the process of reorganizing the African Union forces into U.N. blue berets. Zoellick, having talked with several African leaders, said that there are estimates it would require at least four to six months.

(ST/AP)