Annan urges Sudan to talk
2004-05-14 10:43
New York - UN Secretary General Kofi Annan has urged Sudanese President Omar al-Beshir to find a political solution to fighting in the country's western Darfur region, his spokesperson said on Thursday.
In a letter to al-Beshir, the UN chief "emphasised the importance of negotiating a political settlement to the Darfur crisis," spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said.
"In the letter, the secretary general asks the Sudanese president to follow up on a number of concerns raised by the senior-most UN human rights and humanitarian officials at a Security Council meeting last week upon their return from the region," Dujarric said.
"These include improved access for humanitarian workers so that the victims of the crisis can be assisted as quickly as possible, the maintenance of the humanitarian ceasefire and the need to control and disarm the militia in the region; and facilitate the early deployment of African Union observers throughout Darfur."
The text of the letter was not released.
UN human rights chief Bertrand Ramcharan last week accused the Sudanese government of conducting a "reign of terror" and "repeated war crimes and crimes against humanity" by supporting militia and nomads who have been driving black Africans out of the region.
Sudan's government has rejected the charges.
An estimated one million people have been displaced inside the country, and a UN report has said the government was deliberately starving some of them. More than 100 000 refugees have fled across the border into Chad.
Violence has continued in Darfur despite a 45-day renewable ceasefire signed April 8 by the Sudanese government and Darfur rebels in a bid to halt fighting that erupted in February 2003.