Sudanese must protect refugees, warn Annan and Powell

UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan and US Secretary of State Colin Powell have issued a joint warning to the Sudanese Government to protect civilians affected by the Darfur humanitarian crisis.

At a press conference yesterday, Mr Annan and Mr Powell said that the international community "must insist" that the Sudanese government honours the commitments it gave them when they were in Darfur three weeks ago.

More than a million Sudanese in Darfur are internally displaced and another 180,000 live as refugees in neighbouring Chad because of the fighting and militia attacks perpetrated by Arab Janjaweed fighters recruited and armed by the Khartoum Government. The UN believes that those militias have carried out "numerous human rights violations" against the region's black African population.

"It is important that the internally displaced people be protected," the Secretary-General added.

"It is a sacred responsibility of the government of Sudan to do that, and eventually disarm the Janjaweed and the other militia in the region."

He added: "We need food, we need non-food items, we need to work on sanitation, we need logistical support, we need helicopters, we need planes, and we are appealing to governments to give us the necessary tools to do our work."

Colin Powell voiced dissatisfaction with the region's instability, saying: "The burden for providing security rests fully on the Sudanese government."

He conceded that there had been "some modest improvement in access" in Darfur and called for the world's humanitarian organizations "to take advantage of this" by rushing aid in.

Pledging to keep up pressure on Khartoum, Mr Annan said that Security Council members were "very seriously" discussing a draft resolution on Khartoum.

(gmcg)