Sudanese threaten holy war
2004-08-04 20:34
Khartoum - Tens of thousand of people demonstrated in Khartoum on Wednesday against a possible intervention by western troops in the troubled Darfur region.
The demonstration, organised by the government, brought together tens of thousands, possibly even a hundred thousand people, onto the streets of Khartoum.
The demonstrators said they were ready to wage a holy war against any western troops sent to Sudan and Darfur.
More AU peacekeepers
Meanwhile, the African Union (AU) said it was ready to increase its planned peacekeeping force in Darfur from 300 to almost 2 oops.
"Rwanda and Nigeria have offered to send one battalion each (one battalion is 600-800 troops) to Darfur, AU spokesperson Adam Thiam told Deutsche Presse Agentur dpa.
The AU peace and security council is expected to approve the increase of the force before the end of this week. It will also look at broadening the mandate of the current protection force, transforming it into a fully fledged peacekeeping force, with the right to disarm the Janjaweed militia.
"Rwanda is ready to send as many troops as necessary if asked. We are not ready to witness another genocide anywhere in the world", Rwandan army spokesperson Patrick Karegeya told dpa.
Doubts have been raised whether a few thousand troops would be able to control the situation in Darfur.
"We want to send more, but for that we need the help of donors", said Adam Thiam.
The Khartoum government has not expressed any specific objection to an African peacekeeping mission.
Annan: Khartoum moving in the right direction
On Tuesday UN Secretary General Kofi Annan dismissed Sudan's negative reaction to the UN resolution on the Darfur humanitarian crisis, saying Khartoum is "moving in the right direction" in implementing it.
The resolution, passed last week, calls on Khartoum to implement commitments to resolve the crisis in Darfur, where government-backed militia have been accused of humanitarian abuses in fighting rebels, or face sanctions.
The security council wants to see signs of progress within 30 days.
Annan said the reaction from Khartoum showed that Sudanese officials understood the resolution, which he said was "loud and clear".
Compromise
In what appears to be a more compromising attitude, the UN special envoy to Sudan, Jan Pronk, said on Wednesday that "a full solution to the conflict in 30 days is impossible.
"They (Khartoum) cannot control the rebels and not all of the Janjaweed".
"They have started to act on the resolution. They have added more police in Darfur and they have stopped - as far as we know - their own military activities, such as air raids", Pronk said.
More than one million people have been forced to flee their homes in Darfur since the conflict broke out last year.
UN estimates say up to 50 000 people have died as a result of the conflict. - Sapa-dpa
- SAPA