Former Marine captain on mission to get Americans to care about Darfur

By DONNA DE LA CRUZ, Associated Press Writer

WASHINGTON, Mar 10, 2005 (AP) — A retired Marine captain who spent six months monitoring the war-ravaged Darfur region in Sudan said Thursday he is on a mission to get Americans and the world to care about abuses taking place, including the raping of women, the pillaging of villages and the displacement of millions from their homes.

Ret. U.S. Marine Capt. Brian Steidle talks at a news conference, Thursday, March 10, 2005, in Washington about the six months he spent monitoring Dafur with the African Union Mission in Sudan. (AP).

“I needed to come back and tell my story,” said Brian Steidle, who left the region last month. “This can be stopped with the support of the world.”

Steidle, 28, said he will travel anywhere and speak on his firsthand experiences and has gained some powerful connections here with several lawmakers who have traveled to the region and have called for stronger American action to end the civil war there.

The Darfur conflict began after two non-Arab rebel groups took up arms against the Arab-dominated government in February 2003 to win more political and economic rights for the region’s African tribes.

Sudan’s government is accused of responding by backing the Janjaweed militia in a campaign of wide-scale abuses, including rape and killings, against Sudanese of African origin. The government denies backing the Janjaweed.

Sens. Sam Brownback, Jon Corzine and Rep. Frank Wolf all praised Steidle’s efforts to focus a bigger spotlight on Darfur, calling him an American hero. All three have traveled to the region and have introduced legislation to help its people.

“There is not a more important, moral issue on the globe’s agenda, on the nation’s agenda, then stopping genocide,” Corzine said. “What Brian is doing is bringing graphic and clear evidence that this is taking place.”

On Wednesday, U.N. humanitarian chief Jan Egeland said far more people have died in Darfur than the 70,000 reported since last year. The 70,000 figure was released when there were 1 million internally displaced people in Darfur, but that number has now doubled to some 2 million. As the number of people who have fled increases, the number who die of malnutrition or a host of other reasons also goes up, Egeland said.

Getting an accurate count of the dead from Darfur’s two-year conflict has been extremely difficult because of the size and remoteness of much of the region. It is known that thousands have died from the fighting and many thousands more from disease or hunger.

Brownback said United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan should be held accountable if world aide is not given to the region soon. The U.N. Security Council is expected to authorize sending 10,000 peacekeepers to Sudan to monitor an accord to end the civil war there.

“I think Kofi Annan ought to put his job on the line to stop it,” Brownback said.

Steidle spent six months monitoring Darfur with the African Union mission in Sudan. His daily experiences included seeing burnt and looted villages, dead bodies littering the landscape, interviewing women who had been raped and dealing with rebel and government soldiers.

“We need to put police in every village with a specific mandate to protect citizens and clear roads to deliver aide,” said Steidle, who retired from the Marines in 2003.