Sudan Darfur Rebels Press AU To Send More Peacekeepers
NAIROBI , Jan 30, 2005 (AP) – Rebels in Sudan ‘s western Darfur region called Sunday for the African Union to send more troops to Darfur and give the soldiers the mandate to stop government troops and allied militia from attacking civilians.
The Sudanese government is sending more troops and military hardware to Darfur, continues arming and recruiting Arab militia, known as Janjaweed, and has built airstrips in remote parts of the region to prepare for new offensives against insurgents, said Adam Ali Shogar, a spokesman for the Sudan Liberation Movement, one Darfur’s two main rebel groups.
He said that since Dec. 8, the government has taken seven rebel positions in Darfur in a series of attacks.
“We are asking for more troops with a very clear mandate to protect civilians in Darfur,” Shogar said. “People who are in camps are not safe, those in villages are not safe. The Janjaweed continue committing more crimes against civilians with the help of government soldiers.”
The government denies targeting civilians in Darfur.
The conflict, described by the U.N. as the world’s worst humanitarian crisis, began in February 2003 when the two African rebel groups – the Sudanese Liberation Movement and the Justice and Equality Movement – took up arms over what they regarded as years of neglect and discrimination by the Arab-dominated government. The Janjaweed’s actions – which have killed tens of thousands and caused the expulsion of more than a million – amount to a massive retaliation.
Last year, the African Union sent 2,100 unarmed military observers and police and troops to guard them to Darfur, an area the size of France. The observers are supposed to be monitoring a largely ignored cease-fire.
The rebel appeal for more troops with a stronger mandate came as A.U. leaders met in the Nigerian capital, Abuja, for a summit aimed at tackling conflicts, poverty and disease in the world’s poorest continent.
Shogar said the 53-member organization should allow its troops to protect civilians from attacks.
U.S. and U.N. officials hoped that a Jan. 9 agreement ending a separate conflict in southern Sudan would help end the fighting in Darfur.
But Shogar said the Sudanese officials have the used the respite in the south to beef up its forces in Darfur and launch fresh attacks.
“Since signing the agreement in the south, the government has been bringing more troops and equipment from the south into Darfur for major military offensives,” Shogar said.
“They are still equipping the Janjaweed and recruiting more fighters in the area. They are preparing new airstrips in the bush – away from the sight of African Union observers – for sending more equipment to the militias,” Shogar said.