German observers to remain in Sudan

March 28, 2007 (BERLIN) — Germany has extended the mandate of its 38 military observers deployed as part of a U.N. peacekeeping mission in Sudan and called on the Sudanese government to support international efforts in the region, a government spokesman said Wednesday.

Continuing the deployment is dependent on the U.N. Security Council’s extension of the mandate that set up the mission, aimed at assisting the Sudanese people in bringing peace to the region. The council will decide at the end of April.

The German government, which holds the European Union presidency, also called on the government of Sudan to “cooperate with efforts toward a solution so that the humanitarian situation in the Darfur can improve,” Thomas Steg, a spokesman for the government said.

Darfur’s conflict erupted in 2003 when ethnic African rebels took up arms against the Arab-dominated central government, accusing it of neglect. The government is accused of unleashing Arab militias known as the janjaweed, which are blamed for most of the conflict’s atrocities.

More than 200,000 people have died and 2.5 million have fled their homes in four years of conflict.

(AP)