Wednesday, June 30, 2004
A Sudanese government official denies there's a serious problem.
KHARTOUM, Sudan (AP) -- It has been described as the world's worst humanitarian crisis, and Secretary of State Colin Powell wants a firsthand look.
He was planning to travel to the Darfur province in western Sudan today to visit some of the camps serving as temporary shelters for civilians displaced by a vicious ethnic struggle that began 16 months ago.
An estimated 1 million black Africans have been displaced during the conflict with Arab militias backed by the Sudanese government. Satellite photos reveal the razing of hundreds of villages.
Thousands killed
The United States says between 10,000 and 30,000 Sudanese have been killed in fighting between Arab militias backed by the government and the black African population. The government denies it is supporting the militias.
A U.N. human rights investigator said Tuesday she saw "strong indications of crimes against humanity" during a 13-day visit this month to western Sudan and called for the international community to investigate.
Asma Jahangir told reporters at the United Nations that she found "absolutely clear indications" that Arab militias were being protected by the Sudanese government. She said the number of black Africans killed by Arab militias is "bound to be staggering."
Accompanying Powell for the three-hour visit were Sudanese officials who thus far have had a far different take than he does on how serious the situation is.
Denies crisis
With Powell at his side at a news conference Tuesday night, Sudanese Foreign Minister Mustafa Osman Ismail acknowledged that there may be some humanitarian problems in Darfur but insisted "there is no famine, no malnutrition and no disease" in the area.
He promised to be responsive to U.S. appeals for Sudan to lift restrictions on humanitarian access to Darfur and to disarm the militias. Powell and Ismail spoke after the American visitor took his case for swift humanitarian relief directly to President Omar el-Bashir.
Powell said, "There is a need for additional security so that the humanitarian effort can go on unimpeded."
En route to Sudan, Powell told reporters, "The death rate is going to go up significantly over the next several months," regardless of how quickly outside aid can be provided. He said the situation in Darfur was moving toward genocide, "but we are not there yet."
He avoided confrontational rhetoric during the news conference with Sudanese officials because he believes Sudanese cooperation offers the best hope for a solution.
Annan also visits
Last week, U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan suggested that U.N. troops may have to undertake a mercy mission to Darfur. Without being specific, Powell indicated that the idea was impractical.
Annan also was here delivering the same message as Powell to Sudanese officials. The two diplomats have been in constant touch on the crisis in recent weeks.
"If that government is not able or willing to do it, the international community has to do something about it," Annan said. "It cannot sit idle and complain that yet again we have had mass killings."
Annan flies into Khartoum today and, like Powell, will inspect the western Sudan region.
Powell is the first U.S. secretary of state to visit here in 26 years. His stop is part of a concerted administration effort to make sure that Darfur's victims are not ignored in the way that Rwanda's 800,000 dead were during the ethnic savagery there 10 years ago.
At least 15 U.S. airlifts have brought food, blankets and plastic sheeting to Darfur over the past month.