Conflicting reports on A.U. force for Darfur

NAIROBI, Aug 06, 2004 (dpa) — Sudan’s interior minister said Friday Khartoum will reject any foreign troops in Darfur – African or Western – while the African Union said it was getting closer to deploying a protection force in the conflict-ridden region.

“My government will not accept any foreign military presence in Sudan regardless of the nationality of the troops, be it African or Arab,” Interior Minister Abdel Rahim Mohammed Hussein told the London-based Saudi daily al-Sharq al-Awsat.

The minister said Khartoum agreed with the A.U. on the deployment of the military observers in Darfur, but the planned deployment of a 2,000-strong peacekeeping mission was “nothing but rumours” and there was “nothing official about it”.

Meanwhile, at A.U. headquarters in Ethiopia, a spokesman said the organization was getting ready to deploy a 300-strong force to Darfur to protect the 120 A.U. ceasefire monitors there.

“We have assurances that the government of Sudan welcomes any A.U. intervention with regard to the Darfur conflict, spokesman Adam Thiam told Deutsche Presse-Agentur, dpa.

A.U. chief Alpha Oumar Konare was said to be eager to reach a decision on enlarging the force for Darfur from 300 to 2,000 and changing its mandate from protection to peacekeeping, which would mean it can “disarm and neutralize” the feared Janjaweed militia.

The militia is accused of murder and rape of civilians in Darfur as well as looting and burning of villages since the conflict in the western region broke out early 2003.

They have so far acted with impunity, and many reports say they receive strong backing from the government in Khartoum.

The U.N. Security Council last week passed a resolution demanding that Khartoum disarm the militias within 30 days, or face sanctions.

The U.N. Office for human rights said Friday it was sending a group of human rights observers to Darfur early next week.

Spokesman Jose Diaz told dpa on the phone from Geneva the team of eight would be deployed in the three Darfur states and in Khartoum.

“No one would realistically expect eight people to be able to monitor all alleged human rights abuses in Darfur, said Diaz, but added he hoped their presence would have a calming effect on the perpetrators.

The monitors will also report on the progress of disarming the Janjaweed.

The human rights watchdog Human Rights Watch (HRW) on Friday urged the Arab League to condemn the atrocities in Darfur and take steps to ensure the protection of civilians there.

The Arab League is set to hold a special meeting in Cairo on Sunday to discuss the situation in Darfur.

“The Arab League should stand behind the victims in Darfur and take concrete steps to ensure that civilians are protected from further crimes”, HRW,s Africa director Peter Takirambudde said in a statement.

U.N. estimates 50,000 people have died as a result of the conflict in Darfur, while 1.2 million people have been forced to flee form their homes.