Germany plans pressure on Sudan to allow entry of relief workers

BERLIN, May 26, 2004 (ddp) — The German government soon plans to increase pressure on Sudan to clear the way for relief organizations to enter the country that is devastated by civil war. The government also intends to support the African Union in initiating a peace mission, Deputy Foreign Minister Kerstin Mueller (Greens) said in the morning programme of Germany’s ZDF broadcasting station on Wednesday, 26 May.

The European Union will support such a peacekeeping force in terms of materiel and personnel.

Mueller stressed that coping with the situation in Sudan was a race against time. Once the rainy season starts, it will be much more difficult to ensure that supplies reach the refugees, “and then people will simply die.” Humanitarian aid is therefore more important than an arms embargo, on which the governing coalition had reached agreement.

Experts expect that up to 350,000 people will die in Sudan in the next few months. Relief organizations estimate that some 1.2m people are on the run, 1m of whom are in Sudan’s western region of Darfour and up to 200,000 in neighbouring Chad. Since February 2003, 30,000 people are believed to have died.