Khartoum unveils security measures for Sudan’s restive Darfur

KHARTOUM, July 6 (AFP) — Sudan’s interior minister on Tuesday unveiled a series of measures in a bid to restore law and order to the crisis-torn western region of Darfur, ordering police stations to open in refugee camps.

Abdel Rahim Mohammed Hussein said police stations in camps across Darfur would “receive complaints about human rights abuses and adopt all measures… to restore justice,” he said in a statement.

The United Nations has described the Darfur conflict as the worst ongoing humanitarian crisis in the world.

At least 10,000 people have died and a million have been driven from their homes since ethnic minority rebels launched an uprising early last year against government forces.

Appointed presidential representative in Darfur late last month, Hussein also ordered “all restrictions on humanitarian activities to be lifted, including customs duties and taxes on humanitarian material for three months”.

The government would “facilitate travel for humanitarian workers,” “ensure humanitarian aid reaches those in need” and “guarantee the return of displaced persons to their homes,” he added.

Hussein also stood by a decision announced last Thursday, during a visit to Sudan by UN Secretary General Kofi Annan, to deploy 6,000 policemen in Darfur in an effort to solve the security crisis.

Annan warned the catastrophe would worsen if no action was taken and demanded that Khartoum disarm state-sponsored Arab militias accused of sparking the humanitarian crisis in Darfur.