Why can't John garang do something about this Darfur crises...after all he is the NEW Vice President of Sudan!
MK
paanderson2003 <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
Sudan troops in Darfur offensive
Mr Pronk says more African Union troops are needed in Darfur
The UN's special envoy in Sudan says government military forces have
been operating in the western Darfur region.
Jan Pronk told the BBC that an attack on a village on Wednesday,
leaving 100 people dead, was the latest incident.
He said government bombers and helicopter gunships fly regularly over
north and south Darfur and 40 villages had been hit by pro-government
militia.
Sudan's government and Darfur rebels signed a ceasefire last year,
but this has been violated by both sides.
Mr Pronk told the BBC's Focus on Africa programme the African Union's
1,200-force in Darfur is doing an "excellent job" but needs more
troops.
African Union monitors have been trying to investigate the reported
air attack on the town of Shangil Tobaya on Wednesday, where 100
people are believed to have died.
They were turned away by Sudanese soldiers on Thursday, an AU
official told the BBC earlier.
'Burned villages'
Mr Pronk said observers could not get to the area because it is not
safe. "We know that there are at the moment government military
trucks driving in that direction," he told Focus on Africa.
He said government-linked Janjaweed militia had attacked around 40
villages in the area around Labado in south Darfur.
All the parties are to blame for this increase in violence
Richard Boucher
US State Department
"Many villages around Labado are constantly being attacked - not with
airplanes but by militia and these villages are being burned down and
completely demolished," he said.
"Where the AU are present, they do not attack. The AU is doing an
excellent job at the moment but t hey don't have enough people."
He described the militia as "loyal to themselves" whose objective is
to "drive out all people who do not belong to their own tribes -
mostly they are African tribes who are being driven out."
Q&A: Darfur conflict
He told the programme he believed plans to boost the AU force to
3,500 needed to be more than doubled to 8,000.
AU monitors are also investigating reports that 100 more people were
killed in a raid by Janjaweed militias in the nearby village of
Hamada last week.
Some 9,000 people have fled the area, a UN official said.
'Genocide' findings due
A United States official said all sides were involved in the latest
fighting.
"All the parties, the government of Sudan, the militias that are
allied with the government and the rebels, are to blame for this
increase in violence," said state department spokesman Richard
Bouc her.
The latest fighting has produced more refugees, the UN says
Some 70,000 people have been killed in the two-year conflict.
A further two million people have fled their homes, mostly black
Africans, who accuse pro-government Arab militias of committing
atrocities.
The Sudanese government denies backing the Janjaweed militias, and
blames rebels for starting the conflict.
A UN investigation on whether genocide has been committed in Darfur
has been completed and is expected to be made public next week.
Mwananchi is an open forum that discusses/updates you on the latest news in Africa. It is a group that is made up of 900 members worldwide. To join it simply go to http://www.yahoogroups.com/group/mwananchi
Yahoo! Groups Links
- To visit your group on the web, go to:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Mwananchi/
- To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
- Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to the Yahoo! Terms of Service.
Do you Yahoo!?
Yahoo! Search presents - Jib Jab's 'Second Term'
_______________________________________________ Ugandanet mailing list [email protected] http://kym.net/mailman/listinfo/ugandanet % UGANDANET is generously hosted by INFOCOM http://www.infocom.co.ug/
