- The Sudanese government is making concessions regarding international demands to disarm its allied Janjaweed militias, lifting restrictions on humanitarian aid and letting African Union troops deploy in Darfur. Pressure on Khartoum nevertheless continues to increase as the government has made similar promises earlier.
The government of Sudan yesterday approved the deployment of 300 soldiers of the African Union to protect the observers of the cease fire in the Darfur provinces. Forces from Nigeria and Rwanda have already said they are ready to be deployed immediately in the western Sudanese region as soon as an agreement with Khartoum was reached. Also Tanzania and Botswana have announced a possible deployment of troops.
Khartoum further approved a lift of current restrictions on the free movement for international aid workers assisting the two million war affected Darfurians. Sudanese Interior Minister Abdul Rahim Muhammad Hussein announced that he yesterday had issued two decrees that were to ease the working conditions for relief agencies, following massive pressure from the UN.
Finally, the Sudanese recently announced it was to disarm the Janjaweed militias, which have been accused of a massive ethnic cleansing campaign in Darfur and according to the UN have been armed and supported by the government.
While the Khartoum government denies any affiliation with the Janjaweed militia and that a humanitarian crisis is unfolding in Darfur, authorities bowed into pressure after a coordinated visit to Sudan by US Secretary of State, Colin Powell, and UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan. President Omar Hassan al-Bashir told Mr Annan and Mr Powell that his government now would disarm the militia.
The announcements had come after strong pressure from the UN and the Washington government. There had been increased talks of charging Janjaweed and Sudanese government officials with crimes against humanity. The US government also is considering asking the UN Security Council to impose sanctions on Sudan, which as a last resort could include an international military intervention.
Also the African Union (AU) has increased its pressure on the Khartoum government. African state leaders gathered at a AU summit in Addis Ababa today urgently called on Sudan to "neutralize" the Janjaweed militia. The AU statement however said that the situation in Darfur "cannot be described as a genocide" and it made no mention of ethnic cleansing. This was considered a diplomatic victory for the Sudanese government.
While fellow African leaders want to control the Darfur situation by sending peacekeepers to the region and moderate the allegations made against Khartoum, pressure is even increased by other institutions and organisations. The UN only yesterday repeated its complaints over poor security for its humanitarian workers in Sudan.
Military personnel, uniformed men and "unidentified persons on camel" had stopped and attacked clearly marked convoys of humanitarian workers on two places in the Darfur region, UN spokesperson Marie Okabe said yesterday. The UN refugees agency (UNHCR) further reported that more than 100 people have arrived at a camp for internally displaced people in the last few days, "telling harrowing stories of attacks by the Janjaweed and Sudanese government forces."
The UN in its reporting strongly indicates that the agreement between the Sudanese government and Secretary-General Annan, following his Khartoum visit last week, were not being implemented. Khartoum was still not disarming the Janjaweed and had yet to "remove all obstacles to relief efforts," UN officials were reporting from New York.
Today, also the influential US-based group Human Rights Watch urges the international community to keep the pressure up on Sudan. "Khartoum has flagrantly broken its earlier promises to neutralise [the Janjaweed]," said Jemera Rone of the human rights group. There was no reason to believe this would change now, and the UN Security Council "must be prepared to intervene with more muscle," she concluded.
The group in a letter to the Security Council today urged the UN body to impose sanctions on Sudanese officials as well as government-backed militias. "Sudanese government officials should also be subject to travel and arms sanctions," said Ms Rone. "The Janjaweed are not an independent body, but a tool created by the Sudanese government," she repeated.
afrol News - It is called "financial inclusion", and it is a key government policy in Rwanda. The goal is that, by 2020, 90 percent of the population is to have and actively use bank accounts. And in only four years, financial inclusion has doubled in Rwanda.
afrol News - The UN's humanitarian agencies now warn about a devastating famine in Sudan and especially in South Sudan, where the situation is said to be "imploding". Relief officials are appealing to donors to urgently fund life-saving activities in the two countries.
afrol News - Fear is spreading all over West Africa after the health ministry in Guinea confirmed the first Ebola outbreak in this part of Africa. According to official numbers, at least 86 are infected and 59 are dead as a result of this very contagious disease.
afrol News - It is already a crime being homosexual in Ethiopia, but parliament is now making sure the anti-gay laws will be applied in practical life. No pardoning of gays will be allowed in future, but activist fear this only is a signal of further repression being prepared.
afrol News / Africa Renewal - Ethiopia's ambitious plan to build a US$ 4.2 billion dam in the Benishangul-Gumuz region, 40 km from its border with Sudan, is expected to provide 6,000 megawatts of electricity, enough for its population plus some excess it can sell to neighbouring countries.
front page
| news
| countries
| archive
| currencies
| news alerts login
| about afrol News
| contact
| advertise
| español