Sudan: No genocide here
2004-09-20 14:25
Khartoum - Sudan's justice minister told visiting United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Louise Arbour that there was no genocide or rape in the strife-torn regin of Darfur, a newspaper reported on Monday.
But Ali Mohamed Osman Yassin said that ending the crisis in Darfur was at "the top of the government priorities" and insisted that Khartoum was capable of solving it, Al-Anbaa daily said.
It quoted Yassin as accusing the Darfur rebels, which are fighting pro-government Arab militias accused by the United States of genocide, of not being serious about reaching a settlement.
His comments came after the UN Security Council adopted a tough resolution on Saturday threatening possible oil sanctions against Khartoum if it does not protect the population of Darfur.
Khartoum has described the resolution as unfair but pledged it would abide by the UN demands.
Al-Anbaa said Yassin told Arbour, who is on a week-long mission to Sudan, that Khartoum strongly denied reported practices of genocide and rape in Darfur.
An estimated 50 000 people have died and 1.4 million been displaced in Darfur, where UN officials say pro-government Janjaweed militias have carried out a scorched-earth campaign of ethnic cleansing against non-Arab minorities.