Sudan says 30 days too short to disarm militia
KHARTOUM, August 01, 2004 (dpa) — After a cabinet meeting Sunday, Sudans government condemned the 30-day deadline within which the U.N. says it must disarm the feared Janjaweed militia in Darfur.
“The Cabinet regards the period of 30 days given by the Security Council as not logical and difficult to implement,” the Sudanese Foreign Minister Moustafa Osman Ismael told reporters after the meeting Sunday.
The resolution adopted Friday calls on Khartoum to disarm the Janjaweed militia within 30 days, and end what is now commonly called the world’s worst humanitarian crisis, or face sanctions.
Instead, Khartoum said it will implement a three-month programme agreed with the U.N. in July, which will enable the government to disarm the Janjaweed, open relief corridors for the humanitarian staff and arrest those responsible for abuses in Darfur.
The Foreign Minister said the Sudan-U.N. joint implementation mechanism” would meet Monday to review whether Khartoum has lived-up to its pledges of improving the situation in Darfur.
Sudan had initially baulked at the Fridays resolution, but on Saturday said it would try to comply with its conditions.
The Security Council warned the Sudanese government to end the conflict 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 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.