Sudan rejects 'genocide' label
2004-09-10 08:13
Khartoum - Sudan "categorically rejects" accusations by the United States that it has carried out genocide in the western region of Darfur, its ambassador in Washington said in a letter released in Khartoum.
US Secretary of State Colin Powell on Thursday described atrocities in Darfur as genocide and demanded a UN probe into the crisis, hastening moves toward sanctions on the government in Khartoum.
Powell told a Senate hearing that evidence compiled by the United States "concluded that genocide has been committed in Darfur and the government of Sudan and the Janjaweed bear responsibility, and that genocide may still be occurring."
The Sudanese government has been accused of arming and backing Arab militias, known as Janjaweed, which have rampaged through the western Darfur region.
An estimated 50 000 people have been killed and 1.4m more uprooted in a campaign against black Africans, which began in February 2003 as an attempt to crush a rebel uprising.