US demands that Sudanese return people forced from Darfur camp

WASHINGTON, Nov 3, 2004 (AP) — The State Department urged the Sudanese government Wednesday to arrange for the return of thousands of people in Darfur who were forcibly removed from a camp where they had taken refuge.

Camel riders pass in front of a Rwandan soldier belonging to the African Union Force, patrolling a section of the Abu Shouk displaced camp on the outskirts of El-Fasher, Sudan.(AFP).

Spokesman Richard Boucher said the post-midnight removal of the Sudanese violated U.N. principles governing displaced persons and U.N. Security Council resolutions on Sudan .

Boucher also issued an appeal for the withdrawal of Sudanese forces surrounding some camps for the displaced in Darfur, and for the Sudanese government to let humanitarian workers return to the region.

“We stand with the international community in holding the government of Sudan responsible for the violations, and we request immediate return of all displaced persons back to the camp at El Geer where they were moved from,” Boucher said.

The spokesman’s comments followed a similar appeal in New York by the top U.N. envoy to Sudan , Jan Pronk.

Early Tuesday, Sudanese officials forced thousands of people to relocate from one camp to another camp that Pronk said was less desirable.

Pronk expressed outrage that those rounded up and moved were erroneously told the U.N. had approved the move. He is to report Thursday to the Security Council on the situation in Darfur.

At the State Department, Boucher urged African Union forces in Sudan to monitor the safety of the displaced, adding that the U.S. is concerned about the safety of civilians generally in Darfur.

“There has been a recent kidnapping of 18 people by Darfur rebels that we find very disturbing,” he said. “In addition, we’ve seen the mobilization of thousands of Arab militia in areas of west and south Darfur.”

The actions of these rival groups suggest neither is serious about establishing peace after nearly two years of warfare, Boucher said.

The Bush administration says Arab militias are largely responsible for an ethnic cleansing campaign that has killed tens of thousands of people in Darfur and forced more than 1.2 million from their homes.