Sudanese cabinet meeting on U.N. Darfur resolution
KHARTOUM, August 01, 2004 (dpa) — The Sudanese government was meeting on Sunday to formulate a response to the U.N. Security Council resolution threatening eventual sanctions if Sudan does not act to defuse the crisis in Darfur province.
The resolution adopted Friday calls on Khartoum to disarm the feared Janjaweed militia within 30 days, and end what is now commonly called the worlds worst humanitarian crisis.
Sudan baulked at the resolution, but on Saturday said it would try to comply with its conditions.
“Sudan is not happy with the resolution, but we will comply with it to the best of our ability,” Osman al-Said, Sudanese ambassador to the A.U. (African Union), told reporters in Ethiopia Saturday.
The Security Council warned the Sudanese government to end the conflict in in the western province or face sanctions. The council threatened an arms embargo for the region to prevent atrocities against civilians.
Also on Saturday, Egypt announced it would contribute with a group of military officers to the African Union peacekeeping operation which was being planned.
The A.U. currently has a team of 100 military observers on the ground in Darfur, but said this week it was considering transforming it into a fully fledged peacekeeping force, with size and mandate to disarm and neutralize the Janjaweed militia.
Khartoum has been accused of backing the Moslem Janjaweed in a campaign of murder and rape against black African farmers in Darfur.
Meanwhile, French military has started helping with aid deliveries to Sudanese refugees in eastern Chad.
A first plane with food and other relief items flew into eastern Chad on Saturday.
France was preparing the deployment of 200 troops along the Chad- Sudan border, in response to frequent cross-border raids by the Janjaweed.
“The seriousness of the humanitarian situation in Darfur demands measures that are proportionate to the problem without waiting for a reply from the international community,” French President Jacques Chirac said in Paris Friday.
Khartoum has been accused of idly standing by or actively backing raids by Janjaweed militia against black African residents of Darfur.
According to the U.S. relief organization USAID, about 80,000 people have died in Darfur. The U.N. has put the number of deaths at 50,000 fatalities. More than 1 million people have been driven from their villages, and almost 200,000 people have fled across the border to Chad.