UN’s Annan calls for more troops to monitor Darfur

By Evelyn Leopold

UNITED NATIONS, Sept 1 (Reuters) – The United Nations called on Wednesday for more international troops to monitor the crisis in Sudan’s Darfur region, saying Khartoum had failed to stop attacks against civilians by marauding militia.

In a report to the U.N. Security Council, Secretary-General Kofi Annan said some progress had been made by Sudan in reigning in the Arab Janjaweed militia but that attacks against civilians were continuing and “the vast majority of armed militias has not been disarmed.”

The Security Council a month ago demanded Sudan stop atrocities by the Janjaweed against African villagers, including murder, rape and driving them from their homes. It threatened unspecified sanctions within 30 days if Khartoum did not comply.

But the report from Annan, prepared by his special envoy to Sudan, Jan Pronk, is not expected to lead to sanctions, with key nations, such as Russia and China, having already expressed their opposition to them.

Consequently, hopes are pinned on proposals by the African Union to bolster its small observer force to at least 3,000 soldiers, thereby serving as a bulwark against further atrocities. The Nigerian-sponsored initiative is the subject of peace talks between Sudan and Darfurian rebels.

Wednesday’s report said a “substantially increased international presence” in Darfur was required as quickly as possible, based on a plan U.N. advisers gave to the Africa Union, which called for some 3,000 troops and another 1,100 police. This could help “decrease the level of violence and enhance the protection of the civilian population, particularly those who have been displaced,” the report said.

At least 50,000 people have died, hundreds of villages have been destroyed in what the report called a “scorched earth policy” and 1.3 million people have been uprooted from their homes, with more than 100,000 fleeing to neighboring Chad.

“After 18 months of conflict and 30 days after adoption of (Security Council) resolution 1556, the Government of Sudan has not been able to resolve the crisis in Darfur, and has not met some of the core commitments it has made,” the report said.

The United States, supported by Britain, France and Germany, would like to make sure the threats against Khartoum remain in place and are even escalated. But at the moment, Security Council members are divided about how much pressure to put on Sudan, with some even objecting to a public meeting next week on the crisis, envoys reported.

Pronk is to brief the council on Thursday in a closed session.