Sudan ‘primarily responsible’ for resolving Darfur crisis: Britain

LONDON, June 9 (AFP) — Britain, days after releasing extra aid to Sudan’s crisis-stricken western Darfur region, issued a sharp reminder to Khartoum on Wednesday that it must rein in marauding Arab militias and ensure help reaches the needy.

“I made it very clear to the government of Sudan that they must bear the primary responsibility for bringing the fighting to an end, for reining in the Janjawid militia and for seeking a political solution for what is a crisis of security,” International Development Secretary Hilary Benn said.

Benn was speaking to reporters in London upon his return from a trip earlier this week to Sudan, where he visited three refugee camps inside Darfur, met officials in Khartoum and announced a new 15 million pound (27 million dollar, 23 million euro) humanitarian aid grant.

The minister said that after the Khartoum meetings, the Sudanese government had also agreed to facilitate access for UN and other aid officials to the estimated one million people displaced by the 15-month conflict in Darfur.

“I intend to take a personal interest in assuring that those very welcome commitments are … honored,” he told a press conference.

Aid workers charge that Khartoum has hampered access to displaced people in Darfur, slowed the delivery of relief supplies and militarily backed the Janjawid Arab militiamen who have staged murderous raids on villagers and are widely accused of atrocities.

At least 10,000 people have died and 130,000 others fled across the border into Chad since rebels launched an uprising in Darfur in February 2003 and were met with fierce retaliation by government and Janjawid forces.

UN agencies have described the Darfur crisis as the world’s biggest current humanitarian problem.

Benn said Darfur refugees he spoke with blamed the Arab government for the scorched-earth attacks on their homes. “Time and again, when you ask them the question of ‘who attacked you’, the answer came back: ‘The government’.”

He also described huge delays that have kept back critical aid to Darfur’s people for months, including the “worst example” of a shipment of 30 tonnes of medicine and medical supplies held in Port Sudan for over three months.

“Given the scale (of the crisis), it’s simply unjustifiable”, he said.

Khartoum officials as late as December were in “a state of denial” over the crisis but now had promised to fast-track the delivery of aid and allow international agencies to carry out their work, he said.

Benn said Sudan’s new pledges over improving the relief effort would be carried out within seven days.

Britain, which along with the United States is the top donor of aid to Darfur, is also supporting the African Union’s ceasefire monitoring team, which on Wednesday set up its headquarters at El-Fasher in North Darfur state.

Both rebels and government troops have blamed their rivals for violating the ceasefire on numerous occasions since it was signed on April 8, and neighboring Chad has blamed Khartoum for incursions into its territory.

But the deployment of the AU team was a success already, Benn argued, since Khartoum had previously refused to allow observers into the region. “That is a step forward compared with the state of denial I found when I was in Khartoum in December”, he said.

Last week 16 aid workers were abducted and held for three days by a Sudanese rebel group in Darfur.