US lashes out at Sudan for new offensive in Darfur

Sept 22, 2006 (NEW YORK) — The United States lashed out on Friday at Sudan’s government for its new military offensive in Darfur and urged the Arab League and the United Nations to do more to help end the crisis in western Sudan.

U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and her Danish counterpart called a meeting of more than 20 foreign ministers, including close allies France and Arab countries such as Chad, Algeria and Egypt, to try to boost support for a U.N. force to go to Darfur, which Sudan has rejected.

A group of Darfur refugees, wearing blue berets to represent U.N. colors, held a news conference at the hotel where the meeting was being held and urged the ministers to urgently help deploy U.N. troops to Darfur.

The U.S. State Department’s top diplomat for Africa, Jendayi Frazer, said before the meeting that Rice would stress the need for Sudan to halt its new military offensive in Darfur which had worsened the humanitarian situation.

U.N. human rights monitors on Friday accused Sudan’s army of bombing villages in North Darfur, killing and wounding civilians, and forcing hundreds of people to flee their homes.

“The offensive is having the exact affect we expected it to have which is exacerbating the humanitarian situation there,” said Frazer.

She said many Arab nations, while voicing concern about the atrocities committed in Darfur, had not done enough to stop the violence.

“I think they have not paid much attention to Sudan,” Frazer told Reuters.

The new U.S. special envoy to Sudan, former top U.S. aid official Andrew Natsios, said his goal would be to get as many countries involved in trying to resolve the crisis, particularly Arab nations.

“We need to convince them that we need to stabilize the situation,” he told Reuters, adding that his first trip as envoy would be to Arab capitals to discuss Darfur.

Natsios, who was appointed this week by President George W. Bush, said the Sudanese government’s new campaign in Darfur and the rearming of rebels made the issue all the more urgent.

BOLSTER AFRICAN FORCE

The African Union has about 7,000 troops struggling to keep the peace in Darfur, an area about the size of France. Their mandate had been due to expire at the end of this month but was extended this week until the end of the year.

The United Nations said on Friday it would reinforce African troops in Darfur with 100 personnel to run communications and other equipment while Arab nations promised to contribute funds to the operation.

But Frazer cast doubt over whether Arab countries would follow through on promises to fund the struggling African forces and said they had not given money up to now — while the fighting began more than three years ago.

The crisis has driven 2.5 million people from their homes and killed an estimated 200,000 since 2003. In recent months, aid workers have also come under increasing attack.

Frazer said Sudan’s government was becoming more belligerent in its attitude toward African forces, refusing to grant visas, dismantling and holding up the delivery of key equipment and not allowing Nigerian forces to rotate into the country.

“You have a defiant government which is carrying out a war against its own population and has done so repeatedly,” she said.

(Reuters)