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Now Bashir Admits Darfur Crisis is Deteriorating

The East African Standard (Nairobi)
NEWS
December 8, 2006
Posted to the web December 9, 2006

By Julius Mokaya
Khartoum
Sudan has admitted that the conflict in the country's Darfur region had
deteriorated, but blamed it on rebel groups which refused to sign a peace
agreement in May.
Sudanese President Omar Al Bashir claimed that the conflict, which the United
Nations has declared the worst humanitarian crisis in modern times, is being
fuelled by external forces out to topple his Islamic government.
Bashir defended his military against claims that they were responsible for the
violence in Darfur, saying the army only acted in self-defence and against
rebel attacks on civilians.
"The government is only responding to attacks on both the military and
civilians by rebels who refused to sign the Abuja ceasefire agreement. We can't
be held accountable for their actions," Bashir said.
He was addressing an international press conference at the end of an African,
Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) Heads of State summit in the capital Khartoum.
Western nations accused of funding Darfur rebels
The summit endorsed Bashir as its president for the next two years. The Kenyan
delegation to the summit was led by Planning and National Development minister,
Mr Henry Obwocha, who represented President Kibaki.
Several leaders at the summit, among them Zimbabwean president Robert Mugabe,
congratulated Bashir for taking over the ACP leadership. The leaders also
condemned the recent military coup in Fiji.
Bashir accused some unnamed Western nations and development agencies of giving
financial and logistical support to the Darfur rebels.
"Yes, there is a problem in Darfur, but Sudan's government is not to blame. It
is the rebels who are attacking the army and civilians because of the support
they are getting from the West," he said.
He also accused the UN and the international media of exaggerating the number
of people killed in Darfur.
Aid agencies have evacuated no-essential staff
The UN claims that over 200,000 people have been killed since the conflict
started in 2003 and another 2.5 million displaced are living in camps.Bashir
challenged those with evidence to provide it, saying less than 10,000 deaths
had been reported since the crisis started.
"In less than a month a US newspaper has given conflicting figures on the
deaths in Darfur. It first reported a figure of 200,000 deaths, then the
following week it gave 400,000. I am sure tomorrow it will give a report of
600,000 or one million. This is blatant propaganda," he said.
On Wednesday, the UN and several other aid agencies evacuated no-essential
staff from parts of Darfur, where violence had worsened.
UN spokeswoman in Sudan, Radhia Achouri, was quoted as saying that increased
Janjaweed presence and armed movements had forced the UN to temporarily move
its staff to safer areas.
The African Union peacekeepers in the area have warned of more attacks on both
civilians and international staff.
Bashir opposed to deployment of troops to Somalia
Conflicts in Africa, Bashir said, were being fomented by the West to exploit
the continent's vast resources.
"They impose unfair trade conditions, then encourage rebellion and insecurity
in Africa so as to exploit the continent of its natural and human resources,"
said Bashir.
Meanwhile, Bashir has opposed the deployment of an international peacekeeping
force in war-ravaged Somalia. He warned that the move could worsen the crisis
in that country.
He said the peace talks between Somalia's transitional government and the
Islamic Courts Union, currently chaired by Sudan, were going on well and the
proposal to send peacekeepers could derail them.
The UN has already approved a resolution to deploy the peacekeepers to
Mogadishu.


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