UK minister in Sudan warns against sanctions

LONDON, Sept 18 (Reuters) – Imposing sanctions against Sudan in a bid to halt atrocities in the Darfur region could backfire with the Sudanese government withdrawing cooperation, a British minister said on Saturday.

Foreign Office minister Chris Mullin, who is on a visit to the Sudanese capital Khartoum, said the situation was starting to improve in Darfur.

“As long as we have got the cooperation of the Sudanese government … then there wouldn’t be a need for sanctions,” he told BBC Radio.

“(They) must remain an option but … there is a danger that the albeit limited cooperation that Sudanese government has offered so far would be withdrawn if the international community failed to acknowledge the small things that have changed for the better.”

The United Nations Security Council has called for a vote on Saturday on a U.S.-drafted resolution that would consider oil sanctions against Sudan if it does not stop the conflict.

The U.S. has accused Khartoum of backing Arab militias, known as Janjaweed, who have been blamed for atrocities against African villagers in the arid region. Khartoum denies it backs the Janjaweed.

The U.N. has called the conflict the world’s worst humanitarian crisis in which 50,000 people have been killed and the U.S. has labelled it as genocide.

“I think the situation is improving and I think very slowly and very reluctantly in some cases the Sudanese government is now aware of the scale of the crisis and is now beginning to cooperate,” Mullin said.

“They have allowed in large numbers of people from the humanitarian agencies which they weren’t doing originally and they are now bringing in police from other parts of the country.”

Peace talks between the government and Darfur rebels ended without agreement on Friday but they said they would meet again after one month to try to reach a deal.