France wants militia disarmed

2004-07-07 17:51

Paris - France called on Sudan to forcibly disarm pro-government militias in the troubled western Darfur region if they refused to lay down their weapons, while expressing concern that tens of thousands of displaced people there were facing a humanitarian crisis.

"They should hand their weapons in and if they don't give them up, they have to be taken from them," junior foreign minister Renaud Muselier told a Paris media conference.

"The Janjawids' Arab militias have had a certain free reign and have committed totally unacceptable acts and massive human rights violations," said Muselier, who went to Darfur on a fact-finding trip.

He said Paris would not let up its pressure on the Sudanese government, which had promised on Sunday the "immediate" disarmament of the militias during a visit by UN Secretary General Kofi Annan.

Top UN officials have described the situation in Darfur, where a rebel uprising in February 2003 prompted a vicious response from government forces and the allied militias, as the worlds worst humanitarian crisis.

Some human rights organisations have talked of genocide in the region, where more than 10 000 people have been killed, over a million displaced, and the threat of a major famine looms.

Muselier said Darfur "is on the eve of a terrible drama" because of the number of displaced people forced to find shelter as the rainy season approaches.

He added that French Foreign Minister Michel Barnier had spoken to the Sudanese external relations minister, Mustafa Osman Ismail, and planned to visit Sudan at the end of July.

France, Muselier said, had contributed €10m to the international aid effort in Darfur through bilateral and EU channels.

A Paris-based non-governmental organisation, Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF, Doctors Without Borders), said on Wednesday any attempt by Sudanese authorities to force the displaced people back to their homes without first addressing the widespread insecurity would cause a "health catastrophe".

- AFP