Arab League urges Arab states to honor Darfur

Oct 3, 2006 (KHARTOUM) — Sudan The head of the Arab League on Monday called on Arab countries to provide more assistance to Darfur and honor pledges they made to help the war-torn region in Sudan.

But Secretary-General Amr Musa also said there have been “exaggerations over the exact situation in Darfur” and said he would discuss ways to diffuse the crisis when he meets with Sudan’s President Omar al-Bashir during his visit.

Musa’s visit to Sudan comes as al-Bashir has repeatedly rejected a U.N. plan to have U.N. peacekeepers replace the ill-equipped and understaffed African Union force in the region.

More than 200,000 people have died and 2.5 million displaced in three years of fighting in Darfur.

Meanwhile, Amnesty International on Monday condemned the detention of two brothers by Sudanese security forces.

The brothers — Abelgasim Ahmed Abelgasim, who is a member of one of the armed political groups fighting the Sudanese government in Darfur, and his brother, Zakaria Ahmed Abulgasim — are both from Darfur, the British-based human rights group said.

Sudanese government officials were not immediately available for comment.

Amnesty International alleges that Abulgasim Ahmed Abulgasim was deported from Saudi Arabia to Sudan on Thursday and was arrested on his arrival in Khartoum. His whereabouts and reason for deportation are unknown, the group said.

His brother was arrested by security forces in Khartoum on Sept. 15 and is held without charges, Amnesty said.

In Sudan, political opponents and members of armed groups are often detained and tortured by the Sudanese security forces, the group said.

(AP)