Canada FM urges end to violence in Sudan

MONTREAL, Feb 6 (AFP) — Canadian foreign minister Bill Graham urged fighters in Sudan’s western Darfur region to end a year-long uprising that has left 100,000 people as refugees.

“I join acting UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Bertrand Ramcharan in urging all parties to the conflict to put an immediate stop to the violence, to respect human rights and international humanitarian law and, in particular, to ensure the protection of civilians,” Graham said.

Two rebel groups from the troubled region and a related political movement said Thursday they would meet in Geneva later this month to discuss Darfur’s humanitarian crisis with government officials.

The Sudan Liberation Movement (SLM) and the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) began a rebellion against the government a year ago in response to the perceived economic neglect of Darfur.

Graham “expressed deep concern over the deteriorating situation in Sudan’s western Darfur region, as fighting and the displacement of civilians have intensified,” according to a foreign ministry statement.

Graham pleaded for the safe deployment of humanitarian aid.

“It is imperative that agencies providing humanitarian assistance have immediate, safe and unhindered access to Darfur,” he said.

Some 670,000 have also been displaced within Sudan itself by the war pitting government troops and their Arab militia allies against rebels drawn mainly from the region’s non-Arab minorities.