Annan to open conference on Darfur
UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan today opens an international meeting in Ethiopia to discuss the situation in Darfur and to push again for UN peacekeepers to replace a beleaguered African force in Sudan’s troubled western region.
Speaking yesterday in neighbouring Kenya, Annan said the United Nations still wanted to send its own troops to Darfur.
“We have not given up the idea of strengthening the force in Darfur,” Annan said. “We need to continue our efforts to calm Darfur ... the border area between Chad and Sudan is very fragile and volatile.”
In an attempt to give new momentum to the stalled peace process, Annan is convening the meeting in Addis Ababa of senior officials from the African Union, the Arab League, the European Union, Sudan, the United States, China, Russia, Egypt, France and half a dozen African countries.
In recent days, pro-government militiamen have stepped up attacks on villages in Darfur, killing dozens of people, international observers said. In one raid, janjaweed militiamen – backed by government troops – forced children into a thatched hut, then set it ablaze, killing parents who tried to rescue the children, rebels said.
The Sudanese army denied any connection to janjaweed attacks, saying the claims were politically motivated.
Violence has marred the vast arid Darfur region since 2003, when rebels stemming from ethnic African tribes took up arms against the Arab-dominated central government. Khartoum is blamed for having unleashed the janjaweed militias in response. The militiamen are accused of many of the atrocities in a conflict that has killed some 200,000 people and chased 2.5 million from their homes.
Some in Darfur say the government has let loose janjaweed forces in Darfur recently to put down an umbrella coalition of rebels, the National Redemption Front, which has rejected a peace deal and clashed with government forces.
The African Union said at least 30 people were killed and 40 wounded in a janjaweed raid on Saturday in the northern Darfur town of Sirba and that attacks were also reported nearby.
The UN had planned to replace the 7,000-member African Union mission in Darfur with some 20,000 UN peacekeepers, something the Sudanese government strongly opposes.
