European Union oncerned about Darfur; genocide declaration unlikely

BRUSSELS, Sep 9, 2004 (AP) — European Union officials said Thursday they remain “extremely concerned” about atrocities carried out by militia groups in Sudan ‘s Darfur region.

U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell on Thursday told the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee that genocide was occurring in Darfur. His conclusion was based on interviews conducted with refugees as well as other evidence.

The European Union last month stated that it was up to the U.N. to say whether the abuse suffered by Darfur’s black African population amounted to genocide, saying it did not have adequate evidence.

“We are extremely concerned,” E.U. spokesman Jean-Charles Ellermann-Kingombe said Thursday.

“We have not discussed specifically the use of the word genocide. For us, we have noted that there is an extremely serious situation that still requires a huge humanitarian aid effort.”

Ellermann-Kingombe said the 25-nation body has repeatedly “expressed its deep concern with the situation in Darfur and we have requested on several occasions for the urgent disarmament of the Janjaweed” rebels.

“We concluded that we would still contemplate the possibility of sanctions,” he said.

The U.N. says 1.2 million people have been made homeless and tens of thousands killed in the Darfur conflict, with government forces accused of backing Arab militia in violent campaigns against non-Arab villagers.