US proposes UN sanctions against Sudan militia

UNITED NATIONS, June 30 (AFP) — The United States proposed a UN Security Council resolution that would slap an arms and travel embargo on the Janjawid militia blamed for the bloodshed in Sudan’s troubled Darfur region.

But the draft, obtained by AFP, does not spell out any sanctions against the Sudan government, which is said to have supported the militia in creating what UN officials call the worst humanitarian catastrophe in the world today.

Instead, it leaves the way open for the council, within 30 days of approving the measure, to decide whether sanctions should be placed on “any other individuals or groups responsible for the commission of atrocities in Darfur.”

The text emerged with both US Secretary of State Colin Powell and UN Secretary General Kofi Annan in Sudan to press the government over Darfur.

More than 10,000 people have died in Darfur and more than a million been driven from their homes since a revolt against the Arab-dominated government in Khartoum broke out among indigenous ethnic minorities in February 2003.

In retaliation, the pro-government Arab Jajawid militias have carried out what officials say is a brutal campaign of ethnic cleansing against black Africans.

“We are anxious to see an end to militarism out here,” Powell said in his visit to Darfur.

“We are anxious to see the Janjawid brought under control and disarmed so people can leave the camps in safety and go back to their villages,” he said.