US steps up diplomacy in Sudan
2005-10-13 08:47
Washington - The United States on Wednesday dispatched a new charge d'affaires to Sudan as part of a fresh round of diplomacy to stabilise the African country and halt persistent violence in its western Darfur region.
Washington also reiterated its warnings to the Khartoum government to halt the bloodshed which the United Nations (UN) said had rendered most of Darfur unsafe for humanitarian operations.
"There are obviously things the government of Sudan wants that they're not going to get if they continue to do this," said deputy state department spokesperson Adam Ereli.
"There is a cost to be paid in both opportunities and benefits lost, and there is a cost that can come based on the assessment and conclusions of the international community," he said.
High priority appointment
Ereli said Cameron Hume, a veteran diplomat and conflict resolution expert, was leaving on Wednesday to take up his post as the new charge d'affaires in the country which has not had a US ambassador since 1997.
Hume has more than three decades of experience including stints as ambassador to Algeria and South Africa. Ereli called him "one of our most senior and distinguished diplomats".
"His appointment reflects the high priority that we place on implementing the CPA (comprehensive peace agreement for Sudan) and resolving the crisis in Darfur," the spokesperson said.
Hume will arrive ahead of a flurry of visits by senior US envoys to Sudan.
Jendayi Frazer, assistant secretary of state for African affairs who is currently touring the continent, was due in Sudan on October 20 to boost support for the January peace accord that ended two decades of civil war.
Roger Winter, the state department's special representative for Sudan, was to travel to southern Sudan to shore up efforts to implement the comprehensive peace agreement and push for progress in Darfur.
Deputy secretary of state Robert Zoellick, who has already been to Sudan three times this year, would make his fourth trip there in the coming weeks.
Fresh upsurge of violence
Between 180 000 and 300 000 people are estimated to have died in Darfur since a civil conflict between rebels and government-backed Arab militias erupted in February 2003, leaving some 2.6 million civilians homeless.
The UN mission in Sudan said two-thirds of Darfur was too dangerous for humanitarian operations after a new upswing in violence, including shootings and abductions of African Union (AU) peacekeepers.
Ereli took a less dire view, saying "the information available to us is that relief and humanitarian operations in Darfur continue".
"There have been attacks against IDP (internally displaced persons) camps in the last two weeks (but) those stopped," he said.
But he described the situation as "inherently unstable" and said "we are addressing this issue in a variety of ways and, most immediately today, by sending out a new charge and our senior officials to work the issue".