Blair draws up Darfur plans

2004-07-22 07:40

London - Britain's Prime Minister Tony Blair has drawn up plans to send British troops for possible military intervention in Sudan where a bloody conflict has engulfed the western region of Darfur, a British newspaper said on Thursday.

"The prime minister has asked to look at all the options that will save lives and not to rule out the military services," said a British government official quoted in the Guardian newspaper.

According to the report, Blair is considering three options: sending British servicemen only to help with the aid effort; sending logistical support for an African Union force; deploying British troops to protect refugee camps.

The final and most risky option would require the agreement of the Khartoum government, which would be reluctant to give it, the newspaper said.

Blair on Wednesday promised to keep in close touch with Washington and the United Nations over events in Darfur, where at least 10 000 people are estimated to have died since conflict erupted in February 2003.

"The key things now are, first of all, to make sure that whatever aid is given, it goes through to the people who need it most," Blair told parliament in answer to a question on the issue.

"Secondly, to keep up pressure on the government of the Sudan to make sure that they are dealing with the real problems that are giving rise to the violence and the ethnic cleansing.

"And we continue to put as much pressure as we possibly can on them to do that, along with the United States," he said.

Quizzed on whether more international troops or monitors were needed for Darfur, Blair said he had talked twice with UN Secretary General Kofi Annan about the issue.

"We will continue to work with the UN and other countries which are involved in this, we will continue to monitor the situation very carefully and we rule absolutely nothing out in this situation," he said.

On Monday, rights group Amnesty International accused the Sudanese government of being directly responsible for crimes against humanity in Darfur, including the widespread rape of women.

- AFP