Sudan’s Darfur women weary of continuing war

KHARTOUM, Sudan, Jan 17, 2005 (PANA) — A group representing women from Sudan’s
war-scarred western Darfur region has denounced the nearly two-
year-old conflict, and called on the UN to act against those
responsible for war crimes and human rights abuses in the
region.

The fighting between the government troops and the rebel Sudan
Liberation Movement (SLM) and the Justice and Equality Movement
(JEM) in Darfur has claimed some 70,000 lives and left 1.6
million people homeless, according to figures from relief groups.

The women expressed “deep concern” over the declining
humanitarian and security situation in Darfur, and said that
despite the signing of agreements (ceasefire and humanitarian
protocols) between the government and armed groups, attacks on
unarmed civilians, including women and children, were still
taking place.

In a press release issued here after the group participated in
the just-ended Darfur forum in Tripoli, Libya, the group called
for objective proposals for the next round of peace talks between
the government and the two rebel movements in Abuja, Nigeria,
next month.

“In the name of all Darfur women, the widowed and those who have
lost their children, the orphaned, displaced and refugees, we
appeal to the government and the armed groups to stop hostilities
and commit themselves to signed agreements and UN resolutions
concerning the ceasefire and delivery of humanitarian
assistance,” the women said.

They called for basic services in the internally displaced
persons camps for mothers of newborn babies, pregnant women and
children.

The group stressed the importance of allowing women to
participate in negotiations between government and armed groups,
and called for an UN-sponsored conference for Darfur women both
in Sudan and abroad on the prevailing conditions in the region.