Britain rules out deploying troops to strife-torn Darfur

KHARTOUM, Aug 24 (AFP) — British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw stressed that his country had no plans to deploy troops to the troubled western region of Sudan, but said that Britain stood ready to support the African Union military presence in the region.

“We have absolutely no plans to put in contingents of British troops,” Straw asserted during a joint news conference with his Sudanese counterpart, Mustafa Osman Ismail, following extended discussions between the two men.

“What we have done is to provide military expertise to the African Union,” he added.

The AU observers are on the ground in the region monitoring a ceasefire between government forces and rebels from the Sudan Liberal Movement and the Justice and Equality Movement.

Rwanda and Nigeria also agreed to deploy troops, as part of an AU force, to protect the observers.

A Rwandan contingent of about 150 Rwandan troops arrived in July and is expected to be followed later this month by a similar number of Nigerian troops.

Straw said a British military officer visited Rwanda before the troops deployed to offer military advice. “And we have also provided similar advice to the Nigerian armed forces,” the British foreign secretary pointed out.

“We stand ready… to consider any kind of other request for that kind of military advice.”

He said Britain would also pay the cost for transporting the Nigerian troops to Darfur and support their rations.

“But the responsibility for the provision of troops to protect the monitors is one for the AU,” Straw stated.

Earlier, Straw told reporters that Britain would support boosting the size of the AU observer mission and the force protecting them, but he seemed to agree with the Sudanese government that the force should not be transformed into a fully-fledged peacekeeping force, as some have suggested.

“I think it should be bigger, but the mandate should not be changed,” said Straw.

Sudan insists that with the additional number of police it is deploying in Darfur, there is no need for large numbers of foreign troops in the the region, claiming its security forces are capable of bringing the security situation under control.

“What we need to see is concrete signs of the government of Sudan being really serious about implementing its obligations,” Straw said en route to Khartoum. “I want to see relief of the humanitarian condition and provision of safety and security for the IDPs,” he added.

During the news conference, Ismail claimed that the government was living up to its commitment to the international community, particularly with regard to restoring law and order and reining in marauding Arab militias such as the Janjaweed.

He said upwards of 200 Janjaweed militias are currently in jail and some of them have been tried, convicted and sentenced. “And very hard sentences were passed against them” he added.

“There is also consensus that the government of Sudan has lifted all restrictions and now the flow of humanitarian aid is reaching almost most of the Darfur area,” according to Ismail.

Straw agreed.

“The NGOs are reporting a considerable improvement in the humanitarian access to the Darfur region,” he conceded.

“The government of Sudan is ready to work with the international community so that we bring the situation in Darfur to normal as quickly as possible,” said the Sudanese foreign minister.

The government of President Omar al-Beshir has been roundly criticised abroad for failing to disarm state-sponsored militias accused of mounting a reign of terror in Darfur against villagers suspected of supporting the rebels.

The UN Security Council last month gave Khartoum until Sunday to rein in the militias or face international action over their depredations, which the world body says have sparked the world’s worst current humanitarian crisis.

Straw said he would report back on his visit to UN Secretary General Kofi Annan, as the world body mulls what measures to adopt if Sudan continues to ignore the calls for action.

UN officials say up to 50,000 people have so far died in Darfur and another 1.4 million fled their homes. Of those, approaching 200,000 have sought refuge in neighbouring Chad.

At the weekend, the Sudanese government acknowledged for the first time that its militia allies had committed serious human rights abuses, including rape, against Darfur civilians.

It handed over a list of 30 suspects to an envoy of the UN Commission for Human Rights.