Khartoum cries for urgent relief aid in Darfur

KHARTOUM, Sudan, May 11, 2004 (PANA) — After expressing concern about the
escalating humanitarian situation in Sudan’s western Darfur
region, authorities in Khartoum are appealing to the
international community to provide “urgent and necessary relief
supplies” to the region.

“The ongoing efforts in Darfur can’t succeed unless the rebel
groups stop their raids which threaten peace and stability in
Darfur. And the international community needs to double its
efforts to provide urgent and necessary humanitarian relief
supplies for thousands affected by the war,” the ministry of
foreign affairs said in a press release here Monday.

The statement was in apparent response to two reports recently
presented at the UN Security Council over the disastrous
humanitarian situation in Darfur where human rights abuse are
also reported to be rife.

For the first time since the conflict erupted in February 2003
between government troops and two rebel movements, officials in
Khartoum Monday acknowledged the humanitarian crisis there, but
rejected charges that the government had encouraged ethnic
cleansing.

The Sudan Liberation Movement (SLM) and Justice and Equality
Movement (JEM) spearhead the revolt by the indigenous Fur
Massalite and Zaghawa minorities in Darfur, seeking recognition
from the government.

More than 100,000 Sudanese have fled to neighbouring Chad and an
estimated 1 million more are internally displaced.

Two high-level UN missions on humanitarian issues and human
rights abuses recently toured Darfur, and reported that the
Khartoum government backed Arab militias called Janjaweed accused
of engaging in burning villages and ethnic cleansing.

“The aggravated humanitarian situations which led to displacement
of thousands of citizens in the region are a direct result of the
ongoing crisis caused by the rebel movements” the ministry
insisted.

It denied that the alleged human rights violations in the region
are a systematic and orchestrating campaign by a specific group,
but rather “reflect the unavoidable fighting acts relating to the
conflict nature”.