Sudan’s FM urges complete deployment of African Union troops to Darfur

CAIRO, Jan 13, 2005 (AP) — Sudan’s foreign minister Thursday said his government is awaiting the arrival of more African Union troops to monitor a truce in the conflict-ridden Darfur region.

Sudan’s foreign minister Moustafa Osman Ismail (AP).

Moustafa Osman Ismail said less than half of the 3,320 troops committed by the 52-nation A.U. have arrived in the area.

“We are still waiting for the African troops,” he said.

There now are 1,330 African peacekeepers on the ground in Darfur, an area the size of France. Jean Baptiste Natama, a senior political officer with the A.U., said logistical problems, such as lack of accommodations, are preventing the rest of the troops from arriving.

A.U. troops are monitoring a shaky truce between rebels and government forces who have battled since February 2003 in a conflict that has displaced nearly 2 million people. There is no official estimate of the death toll of the two-year conflict, though 70,000 have died from disease and famine since last March.

Ismail said the government has encouraged the A.U. to speed the convening of the next round of talks with Darfur rebels. The meeting is scheduled for Feb. 1, and Ismail said he hoped it would be the final round of talks.

Ismail said the government should take advantage of the momentum created by last week’s signing of a peace deal to end a 21-year civil war in the south.

“All this reaffirms the unwavering position of the Sudanese government, because we know that without dealing with the Darfur issue, we will not be able to benefit from the momentum of the peace signing in the south. Therefore, we are concerned to reach peace in Darfur.”

Ismail, responding to questions about government military action in Darfur despite a Nov. 9 cease-fire, said Khartoum had to do something to protect the civilians.

“If the African troops can’t defend the roads and civilians, the government must do that,” he said. “We can’t leave the rebels to cut the roads that reach (the 5 million civilians in Darfur).”

The government and the rebels have alternately accused each other of violating the cease-fire, though officials from the U.N. and the A.U. have said there has been relative calm in January.

Ismail said Khartoum is investigating allegations that government planes bombed rebel positions in Sayeh, outside the North Darfur state capital of El Fasher, on Jan. 3.

“This is not Sudanese government policy. If we are absolutely sure, the punished will be the officer who carried this out, or his leader who ordered this,” Ismail told The Associated Press. “If it has happened, it is a mistake.”

The Darfur conflict was sparked in February 2003 when two non-Arab African rebel groups took up arms to fight for more power and resources. The government responded with a counterinsurgency campaign in which the Janjaweed, an Arab militia, has committed wide-scale abuses against the African population.