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Sudan Questions, Warns Against Foreign Intervention
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Ismail said there was no need for military intervention in Darfur
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LONDON,
July 25 (IslamOnline.net & News Agencies) - Sudanese Foreign
Minister Mustafa Ismail on Sunday, July 25, questioned the need for
foreign troops in the western province of Darfur, saying his
government was doing all it could to disarm Arab militias.
"Why
should we have to rush and to talk about military intervention as long
as the situation is getting better?" he told BBC television.
"My
government is doing what can be done in order to disarm the militia.
"We
admit that the government is responsible now for bringing law and
order to disarm
the militia ," Ismail said.
In
Khartoum, the ruling National Congress (NC) threatened to use force
against any foreign intervention.
"Anybody
who contemplates imposing his opinion by force will be confronted by
force," NC Secretary General Ibrahim Ahmed Omar was quoted as
saying by the official Al-Anbaa daily.
"Any
power that intervenes in Darfur will be a loser," he warned.
The
remarks came in response to growing calls in Britain and the United
States for military intervention.
London
has said it could send 5,000 troops to the region if required, while
Australia has said it was considering a UN request for military
personnel to join a mission in Darfur.
The
Sudanese government spokesman Al-Zahawi Ibrahim Malik had said on
Saturday, July 24, that Khartoum was "serious" in its
intention to honor an agreement reached with UN Secretary General Kofi
Annan on humanitarian and security issues in Darfur.
He
invited foreign diplomats and humanitarian officials in Khartoum to
visit Darfur to "see the situation on the ground."
"We
have nothing to hide."
Sudanese
officials and experts have refuted
claims that the situation in war-torn Darfur mounted to
a genocide campaign and warned of plots targeting the unity of the
oil-exporting country.
The
US House of Representatives had unanimously approved a resolution
declaring that "the atrocities unfolding in Darfur ... are genocide
".
Time
Needed
The
European Union Saturday warned that Sudan would likely face
international sanctions if there was not quick progress in ending the
bloodshed in Darfur.
Dutch
Foreign Minister Bernard Bot, whose country holds the EU's rotating
presidency, told Ismail that the situation in Darfur had not
sufficiently improved.
He
stressed, however, that a UN resolution against Sudan was not yet
needed.
Arab
and African heavyweight Egypt also asked the United States and the
United Nations to give Khartoum "the time needed" to honor
its commitments.
The
United States has put forward on Thursday, July 22, a draft UN
Security Council resolution authorizing sanctions against Sudan if it
does not prosecute Arab militia leaders, particularly the Janjaweed.
Aid
Appreciated
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Rebels in Darfur called on Washington to intervene militarily (AFP)
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While
doubting the need for and motives behind sending troops, Ismail said
that his government was grateful for the non-military humanitarian
assistance being offered to Sudan.
"For
Britain to send humanitarian assistance, for the United States, for
the international community (to do the same), that is very, very
acknowledged," he said.
British
aid charity Oxfam was sending a plane to Darfur late Sunday carrying
30 tones of water and sanitation equipment worth more than 90,000
pounds (135,000 euros, 165,000 dollars), reported Agence France-Presse
(AFP).
"The
situation is rapidly deteriorating on the ground, disease is becoming
an increasingly large worry for us," an Oxfam spokesman said.
"This
urgently-needed equipment will be used to try to stop the spread of
disease and provide clean water," he added.
The
plane had been due to leave Britain Friday, July 23, but was grounded
because of tensions on the ground in Darfur, Oxfam said.
Khartoum,
on it part, said it has made available some 46,000 tones of food and a
stock of medicines worth 10 million dollars to displaced people in
Darfur that would meet their needs until the end of September.
The
government also said some 90,000 displaced people returned to their
villages last week, "emptying entire camps".
Reports
about the number of people killed in the conflict in Darfur vary
widely from 10 to 50 thousands.
Some
1.2 million people have reportedly been driven from their homes since
a revolt against the government broke out in February 2003.
Rebels
Want Foreign Troops
On
the other hand, a rebel movement in Darfur called Sunday for a rapid
deployment of international troops allegedly to combat the
humanitarian crisis.
"We
are asking the United States, the United Nations secretary general,
the European Union and the African Union for the urgent deployment of
troops in the coming days to ensure the delivery of food aid to
millions of refugees," rebel spokesman Abdel Wahed Mohammed Nur
told AFP.
Contacted
by telephone, the spokesman of the Sudan Liberation Army (SLA) claimed
such intervention would "avert a humanitarian disaster of great
proportions".
He
charged that the Janjaweed militias were "preventing the arrival
of food aid to displaced people and continue to violate the ceasefire,
and they regularly rape defenseless women."
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