Powell thronged by thousands

2004-06-30 19:53

Abu Shouk Camp, Sudan - US Secretary of State Colin Powell was mobbed by thousands of desperate Sudanese on Wednesday as he toured a camp in the western Darfur region for people forced to flee their homes by rampaging militias.

Powell was accompanied by his entourage and bodyguards as he walked through the Abu Shouk camp for internally displaced persons, a sprawling and spartan tent city on the outskirts of El-Feshir city which shelters some 40 000 people.

Thousands from the camp, which houses mostly women and children, thronged around Powell in the blistering heat as he walked down its dusty paths and through several small markets.

"We are anxious to see an end to militarism out here," he told reporters accompanying him. "We are anxious to see the Janjawid brought under control and disarmed so people can leave the camps in safety and go back to their villages," he said, referring to pro-government Arab militias.

More than 10 000 people have died in Darfur and more than a million been driven from their homes since the revolt against the Arab-dominated government in Khartoum broke out among indigenous ethnic minorities in February 2003.

Many of the displaced persons live in dire conditions, afraid to venture outside the camps or return home for fear they will be killed by the Janjawid.

Powell said the Abu Shouk camp, which was set up in April and is being supplied by several UN and international aid agencies, including Oxfam and the international Red Cross, was providing "hope not just sustenance."

But he stressed that provisions would have to be made for the displaced from several tribes targeted by the militias to return to their villages. That would require "an end to the violence and an end to the Janjawid" he said.

However, residents of the dusty camp were still afraid to return to their homes.

- AFP