British official: Sudan not doing enough to rein in allied militia in Darfur

By RODRIQUE NGOWI, Associated Press Writer

NAIROBI, Oct 22, 2004 (AP) — A British official criticized Sudan on Friday for not doing enough to disarm militias blamed for killing thousands of people and forcing more than 1.5 million others from their homes in the western Darfur region.

Britain’s minister for Africa, Chris Mullin, said security in Darfur must be restored quickly to enable those who fled their homes to return in time for the planting season that begins in March.

“If we go past that and there are still people in the camps, then the crisis is going to last for much longer and is going to require large amounts of international aid,” Mullin said during a visit to neighboring Kenya.

The United Nations says more than 70,000 people have also been killed in Darfur since February 2003. Originally a clash between African farmers and Arab nomads, the conflict has been inflamed by a counterinsurgency in which pro-government Arab militia have raped, killed and burned the villages of their enemy.

Sudan denies frequent allegations that it supports the Arab militia, known as the Janjaweed.

British Prime Minister Tony Blair visited Sudan on Oct. 6 and won key concessions from Sudanese leaders. They include a joint withdrawal of government and rebel forces in Darfur and acceptance of an increase in international cease-fire monitors.

Mullin said Sudanese authorities “have not done enough to rein in the local militia and the Janjaweed.”

International pressure has compelled Sudanese authorities to open up Darfur to international aid, allow in foreign workers and deploy police officers from outside the region, he said.

The U.N. food aid agency warned Friday that Darfur remains dangerous, with road closures cutting into its ability to provide aid.

In the past week, unidentified men, some in civilian clothes and others in uniform, have attacked commercial trucks contracted by the agency. In one case, assailants attacked 36 trucks, beating some drivers and stealing their property without looting the food in the vehicles, which bore U.N. insignia.

Skirmishes and the killing of two aid workers with the U.K.-based group Save the Children in a land mine explosion on Oct. 10 have increased tensions, prompting U.N. security officials to declare some parts of Darfur off limits, said the U.N. food agency.

But the U.N. refugee agency said Friday it was stepping up operations in Darfur in a bid to encourage people who fled their homes to seek the United Nations’ help within Sudan instead of crossing into Chad, where 200,000 people are already in camps.

“We fear that if the situation is not stabilized soon in Darfur, we could see tens of thousands more refugees cross the border into Chad, where resources are already stretched to the breaking point,” said Rupert Colville, spokesman for the U.N. refugee agency.