Evidence suggests ‘genocide’ may be underway in Darfur: senior US officials
WASHINGTON, June 24 (AFP) — There is evidence that “genocide” may be taking place in Sudan’s strife-torn western region of Darfur but the United States has not yet made a legal determination on the issue, senior US officials said.
Such a determination, which would require action under international conventions against genocide, is now under active review, the officials said shortly after the State Department announced that US Secretary of State Colin Powell would visit Khartoum and Darfur next week.
“I can tell you that we see indicators of genocide and there is evidence that points in that direction,” said Pierre Prosper, the US ambassador-at-large for war crimes.
“At this moment, we are not in a position to confirm,” Prosper added in testimony before the House International Relations Committee. “In order to do so, Darfur needs to be opened up.”
Prosper did not mention Powell’s upcoming travel to Sudan in his testimony but said he himself had unsuccessfully sought access to Darfur, where at least 10,000 people have been killed and a million displaced since fighting began in February 2003.
He said Washington had evidence of war crimes committed by seven Sudanese officials and others affiliated with pro-government militias, known as “Janjawid,” which are accused of mounting an ethnic cleansing campaign in the region that many say constitutes genocide.
“These people need to be investigated and brought to justice,” Prosper said, identifying the men by name.
Powell is to visit Sudan on Tuesday and Wednesday to press the government to crack down on the Janjawid and open Darfur to aid workers and supplies to prevent what many believe could be a massive humanitarian catastrophe.
After announcing Powell’s trip, State Department spokesman Richard Boucher said a genocide determination was “under intense review” but stressed that what was happening definitely amounted to “ethnic cleansing.”
“We’ve seen attacks and atrocities against African civilians by the government-supported militias, and situations where villages with Africans in them were totally destroyed and a village next door that was Arab was untouched by any violence,” Boucher said.
He accused the militias of systematically attacking and destroying at least 301 villages, including with aerial bombardments and helicopter gunships, and damaging another 76. He also said they had burned crops, killed or stolen cattle and destroyed irrigation systems.
“And we’ve not seen any action by the government to bring this under control,” Boucher said.
A senior State Department official later told reporters on condition of anonymity that Washington had evidence, including satellite photos, to prove the allegations.
“We have a lot of information, we hear a lot of stories, we know the Janjawid are still attacking, we know the kind of attacks,” the official said. “We have overhead pictures of places that have been attacked so we know the violence continues.”