Annan’s UN to visit Sudan on Africa trip, report says he will travel to Darfur
UNITED NATIONS, June 17, 2004 (AP) — Secretary-General Kofi Annan will visit Sudan in the next few weeks. An official newspaper in Khartoum reported that he will travel to the conflict-wracked Darfur region, where 2 million people desperately need aid.
U.N. associate spokesman Stephane Dujarric confirmed that Sudan will be one stop on a trip to Africa that Annan is planning later this month or early next month. But he wouldn’t confirm the report in the al-Anbaa daily, saying details of the trip won’t be released until closer to the date because of security reasons.
The paper quoted State Foreign Minister Tigani Salih Fidhail as saying his ministry had been informed of the visit by its diplomatic mission in New York and expected a formal request in the next few days. Once it is received, the government will consult with Annan on the timing and program of the visit, the paper reported, according to the Middle East Online website.
U.N. Undersecretary-General Jan Egeland on Monday called Darfur the worst humanitarian crisis in the world today. He accused the Sudanese government of hindering efforts desperately trying to get food, water, sanitation equipment, tents and other supplies to the region before the upcoming rainy season.
“We’ve been working for many, many weeks in a race against the clock, and we see that the government, which should do its utmost to help us, is still not helping,” Egeland said. “Some ministers are helping us, but some of their subordinates are sabotaging us.”
The conflict has drawn charges of ethnic cleansing of mainly African tribes by government-backed Arab militias. The Sudanese government has denied backing the militias, blaming the trouble in Darfur on rebels and on criminal gangs.
Last week, the Security Council adopted a resolution demanding an end to the fighting in Darfur.
Egeland reiterated Monday that he still believes there was “ethnic cleansing” but he said, “I think it’s not genocide yet -and we can prevent it from becoming one.”
After a fact-finding trip to Darfur, Carol Bellamy, head of the U.N. Children’s Fund, urged Sudan ‘s President Omar el-Bashir on Tuesday to protect the more than 1 million people who have fled their homes because of violence in the western region.
The Darfur fighting is continuing as Sudan appears to be nearing an agreement to end an unrelated civil war that has raged for 21 years in the south. More than 2 million people have perished, mainly through war-induced famine.
Bellamy said Tuesday she had congratulated el-Bashir “on the progress toward peace between the north and south, but stressed the need for peace throughout the entire country.”