More military observers needed in Darfur – U.N. official
KHARTOUM/NAIROBI, Aug 18,2004 (dpa) — The current number of ceasefire observers in Sudan’s war-ravaged Darfur region is insufficient, the U.N. envoy to Sudan, Jan Pronk, said in an interview published Wednesday.
Pronk has held continuous discussions with the Sudanese government in recent weeks on Khartoum’s efforts to comply with a U.N. Security Council resolution last month demanding the disarmament of the Janjaweed militia and the improvement of the humanitarian situation in Darfur.
He told the Financial Times newspaper that “thousands” more observers and supporting troops would be needed to monitor ceasefire violations and human rights abuses across the vast Darfur region.
There are currently just over a hundred African Union (A.U.) military observers in Darfur, whose job is to monitor a ceasefire signed in April between Khartoum and the two main rebel groups in Darfur.
Over the weekend, 155 Rwandan troops arrived in Darfur. They are the first half of a force charged with protecting the observers. The second half, from Nigeria, is expected later this week.
The 300-man force does not, however, have the right to protect civilians or attempt to disarm the Khartoum-backed Janjaweed militia, accused of killing and looting raids against the Darfur civilians.
Plans by the A.U. to increase the force to 2,000 and give it a peacekeeping mandate has so far been rejected by the Sudanese government, which says it can solve the situation in Darfur without foreign intervention.
Up to 50,000 people have died from violence, starvation and disease since the inception of the 18-month conflict in Darfur. At least 1.2 million people have been forced to flee from their homes, while two million are in acute need of food and medical attention.
Sudanese Foreign Minister Mustafa Osman Ismail was due to meet Chadian president Idriss Deby Wednesday, as part of his “diplomatic campaign” tour to three African countries. The visits to Libya, Nigeria, and Chad are aimed at clarifying Sudan’s position in the conflict in Darfur.
In Nigeria, the current chair of the A.U., President Olusegun Obasanjo has asked the senate for permission to expand the planned Darfur force to a maximum of 1,500 troops, Nigerian press reported Wednesday.
Nigeria will be the host of planned peace talks between Khartoum and Darfur rebels starting August 23.
In Sudan, the World Food Programme (WFP) said Wednesday it is scaling up its air operations into the worst affected areas as the rainy season is reaching its peak.
The WFP said in a statement it will use cargo planes to airlift nearly 100 tonnes of food daily into El-Geneina, the capital of West Darfur.
WFP also said it is strengthening its capacity to deliver food overland, with 21 out of 120 all-terrain trucks currently bound for Darfur from the capital.