Sudan troops to stop violence

2004-07-03 10:41

Khartoum - UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan won a promise from Sudan's government to send troops to stop militia violence that has forced 1 million people to flee in the Darfur region, in what has been called world's worst humanitarian crisis.

Annan has visited several camps in a tour aimed at pressing President Omar el-Bashir's government to end the 16-month conflict.

"My message is simple, violence must stop," Annan told reporters after meeting el-Bashir in Khartoum's heavily guarded military headquarters.

"The Janjaweed must be stopped and a cease-fire must be respected by all."

Sudanese Foreign Minister Mustafa Osman Ismail told reporters that 6 000 soldiers and policemen would be deployed in Darfur to improve security, but he did not say when.

"The priority now is for security, then the return of the displaced persons, and this is to go hand in hand with the political settlement," Ismail said.

Sudan's pledge came as the United States raised the possibility of sanctions if the government fails to act quickly to end attacks by Arab militias and allow humanitarian aid to reach displaced people.

UN officials have called the situation the worst humanitarian crisis in the world, and Annan has said it "is bordering on ethnic cleansing."

Many Sudanese who have fled tell similar stories of airplanes dropping bombs and raiders on horseback who burn, kill and loot.

Thousands of people have been killed and more than a million forced from their homes, most taking shelter in makeshift camps with little access to clean water or proper sanitation.

The Sudanese government denies any complicity in the militia attacks and says the warring sides are clashing over land and scarce water resources.

Annan arrived in the capital, Khartoum, after visiting Sudanese refugees at a camp in Chad.

US Secretary of State Colin Powell also visited Sudan this

The UN children's agency in Geneva said on Friday that many young people from Darfur either had been victims of violence or scarred by witnessing violent acts, including rape and murder.

The Justice and Equality Movement and the Sudan Liberation Army, two rebel groups drawn from the region's African tribes, took up arms in February 2003 over what they regard as unjust treatment by the government in their struggle over land and resources with Arab countrymen in Darfur.

A cease-fire was signed April 8, but both sides accuse each other of violations.

- AP