Regions
UN’s Annan wins commitment from Sudan’s president to improve security in Darfur
KHARTOUM, Sudan, July 02, 2004 (AP) — U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan said he won a commitment from Sudan’s president here on Friday to “remove all obstacles” confronting the Darfur humanitarian crisis.
Annan arrived in the Sudanese capital, Khartoum, after visiting Sudanese refugees in a displaced people’s camp in Chad on a tour aimed at pressing President Omar el-Bashir’s government to end a 16-month conflict in the western state of Darfur.
In particular, the U.N. chief wanted el-Bashir to make good on promises to disarm the Janjaweed, an Arab militia blamed for attacks on thousands of black African villagers in Darfur.
“My message is simple, violence must stop,” Annan told reporters after meeting el-Bashir in Khartoum’s heavily guarded military headquarters. “The Janjaweed (Arab militias) must be stopped and a cease-fire must be respected by all.”
The Justice and Equality Movement and the Sudan Liberation Army, two rebel groups drawn from the region’s African tribes, took up arms in February 2003 over what they regard as unjust treatment by the government in their struggle over land and resources with Arab countrymen in Darfur.
A cease-fire was signed April 8, but both sides accuse each other of violations.
U.N. officials and human rights groups have accused el-Bashir’s government of backing the Janjaweed in a campaign to violently expel African farmers from the Iraq-sized region.
U.N. officials have also called the situation in Darfur the worst humanitarian crisis in the world, and even Annan has said it “is bordering on ethnic cleansing.”
Many Sudanese who have fled tell the same story: airplanes dropping bombs and raiders on horseback who burn, kill and loot. Thousands of people have been killed and more than a million forced from their homes, most taking shelter in makeshift camps with little access to clean water or proper sanitation.
El-Bashir’s government denies any complicity in the militia attacks and says the warring sides are clashing over land and scarce water resources.
Annan described his talks with the Sudanese leader as “very constructive discussions, very important political talks” on the “deplorable” situation in Darfur.
During tours of refugee camps inside Sudan and Chad, Annan said he learned first hand of many human rights abuses, “including sexual violence against women.”
But following Friday’s talks, Annan said, “Now we have a commitment from President el-Bashir to remove all obstacles that face humanitarian action in Darfur,” adding that a joint U.N.-Sudanese statement on his talks with el-Bashir would be issued Saturday.
Sudanese Foreign Minister Mustafa Osman Ismail told reporters that 6,000 soldiers and policemen would be deployed in Darfur to improve the security situation. He did not say when the forces would be sent.
“The priority now is for security, then the return of the displaced persons and this is to go hand in hand with the political settlement,” Ismail said.
Sudanese officials have pledged to improve security in Darfur and disarm all armed groups, but Annan has said “we need to have a sense that the government is really serious about protecting the people so that they feel secure and go home.”
Annan has said international troops could be sent to Darfur if the situation does not improve. But without firm commitments on troops or logistical support from major powers like the United States, Annan was intent on pressing el-Bashir to disarm the Janjaweed.
On monitoring the April 8 signed cease-fire, Annan said an African Union committee was handling efforts to monitor the agreement. The deal expected to see 150 African Union monitors enter Darfur, but so far only a handful have arrived in the ravaged state.
Earlier Friday in neighboring Chad, thousands of Sudanese displaced by the Darfur fighting turned out to see the U.N. leader during his visit to the Iridimi Camp, located in desolate landscape 70 kilometers (44 miles) west of the Sudanese border.
“All we want is peace so we can return,” said Saleh Hamid Moubarak, a 57-year-old who is living at the camp, a mass of flimsy shelters made from sticks and plastic sheets. “Our children were killed, our belongings looted, our women raped.”
Annan arrived in the Sudanese capital, Khartoum, after visiting Sudanese refugees in a displaced people’s camp in Chad on a tour aimed at pressing President Omar el-Bashir’s government to end a 16-month conflict in the western state of Darfur.
In particular, the U.N. chief wanted el-Bashir to make good on promises to disarm the Janjaweed, an Arab militia blamed for attacks on thousands of black African villagers in Darfur.
“My message is simple, violence must stop,” Annan told reporters after meeting el-Bashir in Khartoum’s heavily guarded military headquarters. “The Janjaweed (Arab militias) must be stopped and a cease-fire must be respected by all.”
The Justice and Equality Movement and the Sudan Liberation Army, two rebel groups drawn from the region’s African tribes, took up arms in February 2003 over what they regard as unjust treatment by the government in their struggle over land and resources with Arab countrymen in Darfur.
A cease-fire was signed April 8, but both sides accuse each other of violations.
U.N. officials and human rights groups have accused el-Bashir’s government of backing the Janjaweed in a campaign to violently expel African farmers from the Iraq-sized region.
U.N. officials have also called the situation in Darfur the worst humanitarian crisis in the world, and even Annan has said it “is bordering on ethnic cleansing.”
Many Sudanese who have fled tell the same story: airplanes dropping bombs and raiders on horseback who burn, kill and loot. Thousands of people have been killed and more than a million forced from their homes, most taking shelter in makeshift camps with little access to clean water or proper sanitation.
El-Bashir’s government denies any complicity in the militia attacks and says the warring sides are clashing over land and scarce water resources.
Annan described his talks with the Sudanese leader as “very constructive discussions, very important political talks” on the “deplorable” situation in Darfur.
During tours of refugee camps inside Sudan and Chad, Annan said he learned first hand of many human rights abuses, “including sexual violence against women.”
But following Friday’s talks, Annan said, “Now we have a commitment from President el-Bashir to remove all obstacles that face humanitarian action in Darfur,” adding that a joint U.N.-Sudanese statement on his talks with el-Bashir would be issued Saturday.
Sudanese Foreign Minister Mustafa Osman Ismail told reporters that 6,000 soldiers and policemen would be deployed in Darfur to improve the security situation. He did not say when the forces would be sent.
“The priority now is for security, then the return of the displaced persons and this is to go hand in hand with the political settlement,” Ismail said.
Sudanese officials have pledged to improve security in Darfur and disarm all armed groups, but Annan has said “we need to have a sense that the government is really serious about protecting the people so that they feel secure and go home.”
Annan has said international troops could be sent to Darfur if the situation does not improve. But without firm commitments on troops or logistical support from major powers like the United States, Annan was intent on pressing el-Bashir to disarm the Janjaweed.
On monitoring the April 8 signed cease-fire, Annan said an African Union committee was handling efforts to monitor the agreement. The deal expected to see 150 African Union monitors enter Darfur, but so far only a handful have arrived in the ravaged state.
Earlier Friday in neighboring Chad, thousands of Sudanese displaced by the Darfur fighting turned out to see the U.N. leader during his visit to the Iridimi Camp, located in desolate landscape 70 kilometers (44 miles) west of the Sudanese border.
“All we want is peace so we can return,” said Saleh Hamid Moubarak, a 57-year-old who is living at the camp, a mass of flimsy shelters made from sticks and plastic sheets. “Our children were killed, our belongings looted, our women raped.”