Opposition leader accuses Sudan of failing to manage Darfur crisis

KHARTOUM, June 27 (AFP) — A Sudanese opposition leader accused Khartoum of failing to manage the crisis in the war-torn region of Darfur, which the United Nations has called the world’s worst humanitarian crisis.

Opposition Umma Party leader, Sadek al-Mahdi, told a news conference that the government had failed to assess the magnitude of the crisis, which it had exacerbated by insisting on solving alone, “excluding other political forces”.

The former prime minister, who recently toured Darfur, lamented what he termed the “miserable” living conditions of internally displaced persons, of whom he said there were 1.1 million living in 26 camps in the three states.

He said towns had “turned into military barracks,” and warned against the “growth of the armed militias” loyal to the government and rebel movements.

He called for an independent inquiry to bring those guilty to justice and compensate people affected by the conflict.

Mahdi, whose party has a wide following in Darfur, also called for a committee of civil servants and non-governmental staff to be set up to coordinate national and international humanitarian operations in Darfur.

He said an African Union force, due to arrive in Darfur to monitor the ceasefire, would be “ineffective” because it was too small and due to the onset of the rainy season.

US Secretary of State Colin Powell and UN chief Kofi Annan are due to visit Sudan next week to step up pressure on Khartoum to resolve the 16-month conflict in Darfur, disband pro-government Arab militia groups terrorizing the local population and restore a semblance of order and normalcy in the region.

More than 10,000 people have died in Darfur, one million been displaced and a further 120,000 refugees have poured across the western border into Chad since the rebellion by black African groups against the Arab-dominated government in Khartoum broke out in February 2003.