Sudanese army denies responsibility for attacks in Darfur
Nov 25, 2006 (KHARTOUM) — The Sudanese army denied on Saturday carrying any attacks in Darfur and blamed some of the latest bloodshed on janjaweed fighters it accused of being outlaws.
United Nations officials say the janjaweed militia are a pro-government group, and claim that during last month joint army and militia raids have chased more than 60,000 people form their homes in Darfur. The U.N. Humanitarian Chief Jan Egeland recently accused these joint raids of specifically targeting civilians, including children.
The Sudanese military denies backing the janjaweed and dismissed allegations of recent attacks in the south of Darfur.
“Reports that the army has hit in the area of Um Dhai in (South) Darfur are all but void of any truth,” military spokesman Brig-Gen. Osman Mohamed al-Aghbash said in an army newspaper.
“The army’s duty is to safeguard security and stability, not to engage in killings and looting operations,” he said.
The spokesman’s comment was the latest of a string of remarks by the army that appear to dissociate the military from the ongoing onslaught in Darfur _ a possible sign of rift among ruling circles in Khartoum on how to handle the spiraling Darfur crisis.
“Such acts of killing and looting bear the mark of janjaweed outlaws. The army is currently on the lookout for them and actively chasing them,” the military spokesman said.
On Thursday, the International Criminal Court announced it was close to launching prosecutions against suspects believed responsible for atrocities including murder, rape and torture in Darfur.
The announcement came as Khartoum and the U.N. were negotiating a deal for the world body to handle a “hybrid” peacekeeping operation in Darfur with the African Union, whose current 7,000-strong force is seen as largely overwhelmed.
Sudan has long opposed any U.N. intervention in Darfur, but a senior Sudanese official said that Khartoum was now bargaining for the U.N. to deploy in exchange for government hardliners not being prosecuted. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the matter.
A recent U.N. report says security had markedly worsened in Darfur and that civilians were bearing the brunt of the fighting. Throughout the vast, arid region of western Sudan, banditry continues unabated and humanitarian workers are being targeted, the report also said.
The U.N. worried about increased violence within refugee camps, where more weapons are circulating. Intimidation of refugees and gender-based violence, such as rape and harassment, are regularly being reported, the U.N. said.
The Sudanese military spokesman responded to the U.N. bulletin saying that the janjaweed militias would be pursued.
Al-Aghbash also said that though the army was not conducting attacks in Darfur, it remained ready to counter any breach to a cease-fire signed by the government and one rebel group last May.
He accused the National Redemption Front, a coalition of rebels who refused the Darfur Peace Agreement, of being backed by neighboring Chad. The NRF is receiving “direct assistance from influential quarters inside the Chadian government,” al-Aghbash said, stating that some NRF offensives “have been launched from inside Chadian territory.”
More than 200,000 people have died and 2.5 million been displaced by three years of fighting between rebel and government forces in Darfur.
Observers increasingly worry the violence is spilling over the borders to Chad and the Central African republic, threatening the stability of the entire region.
(AP)