US presses Sudan on Darfur on eve of UN report
WASHINGTON, Aug 30 (AFP) — A senior US diplomat toured a refugee camp in Sudan’s strife-torn western region of Darfur and will press Sudanese officials on ending the crisis there, the State Department said as the United Nations prepares to discuss possible sanctions on Khartoum.
US Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs Constance Newman toured a camp near the town of El Fasher and was to meet senior Sudanese officials in Khartoum on Tuesday before returning to Washington on Wednesday ahead of a UN Security Council meeting on Darfur expected later this week, spokesman Richard Boucher said.
“She’s going to say that it’s vital for the government of Sudan to comply fully with its own commitments, comply fully with the requirements of the UN resolution,” he told reporters.
“Otherwise, as stated in the UN resolution, the Security Council will decide to take further action,” Boucher said.
That resolution set an August 30 deadline for Sudan to rein in pro-government militias accused of conducting an ethnic cleansing campaign in Darfur and to ease restrictions on humanitarian aid in the region or face possible UN sanctions. The Security Council is expected to hear a report on the situation on Thursday.
Boucher declined to comment on any preliminary assessment that Washington may have about whether Khartoum has done enough to avoid the threat of sanctions, but said the United States remained concerned on a number of fronts.
“Security remains a major problem and while there have been some indications — some might say spotty progress here and there — there are still a lot of problems that do concern us,” he said.
He refused to comment further until the UN report was delivered.
According to the United Nations, more than 1.4 million people have fled their homes and more than 30,000 have been killed during the 18-month-old Darfur conflict, many in raids conducted by the pro-Khartoum Arab militia against black African tribes seen as sympathetic to two indigenous rebel groups.
The government and the rebel groups are engaged in halting peace talks in Nigeria which are seen as a first step on the road to a permanent peace in Darfur.
Those talks had been briefly suspended last week due to a dispute over an alleged attack by the militias on a black African minority village in southern Darfur — which rebels said left 64 civilians dead.
Boucher did not speak to the veracity of the rebel account, but said Washington would be dismayed if it was true.
“We are concerned that their continue to be such reports even at this stage in the peace process,” he said.