AL-FASHER, Sudan – The International Committee of the Red Cross said Tuesday it was mounting a major airlift of relief supplies to Sudan’s troubled Darfur region, its largest such operation since the war in Iraq.
Sudan’s interior minister, meanwhile, said a cease-fire with rebel factions in Darfur was violated twice on the opening day of peace talks that aim to bring an end to the crisis.
The United Nations terms Darfur the world’s worst humanitarian crisis. More than 30,000 people have been killed and 1.4 million forced to flee their homes in 18 months of fighting between African rebel groups and Arab militia known as the Janjaweed.
Interior Minister Abdel-Rahim Hussein said Monday’s attacks by Sudanese Liberation Army fighters, which left several police injured, did not bode well for peace talks in Abuja, Nigeria, which opened the same day. But he insisted the government remains committed to the peace process.
“It still means we continue the talks, because we think the only way to reach a solution is through negotiation,” he said after visiting the scene of one attack, a police post responsible for security at Zam Zam refugee camp 10 miles south of the regional capital of Al-Fasher.
He said the second attack was on a police car near Tawilah, 35 miles west of Al-Fasher.
It was not possible to independently confirm the attacks or the affiliations of the perpetrators.
Announcing plans to launch a major airlift to the region, the Red Cross said it was planning six trips carrying trucks, other equipment and medical supplies by Sept. 5.
“The aim is to improve ICRC access to thousands of people still deprived of urgently needed humanitarian aid and to provide further supplies to meet vital health and water needs,” the agency said.
The peace talks in Nigeria are a last-minute attempt for progress before Monday’s U.N. Security Council deadline for Khartoum to disarm the Arab militia accused of terrorizing African farmers or face economic and diplomatic sanctions.
Earlier Tuesday, British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw toured a sprawling desert camp housing 40,000 displaced people and urged the Sudanese government to do more to make it safe for the frightened refugees to return home.
Straw, whose country has veto power on the Security Council, said officials should be in a position by week’s end to decide whether Khartoum had made sufficient progress in easing the crisis to avoid sanctions.
Associated Press
A refugee stands behind a fence at the Abu Shouk camp in Sudan’s Darfur region on Tuesday.
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
