US Secretary of State Colin Powell's description of the Darfur situation as "genocide" is worsening the conflict in the Sudanese region, a Sudanese diplomat said Tuesday in Abuja.

In a statement issued in the Nigerian capital Abuja, Counselor Mohammed Omer Musa of the Sudanese Embassy to Nigeria faulted the premise upon which the US State Department arrived at that conclusion.

Powell in a testimony before the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee last week declared the Darfur tragedy a "genocide," a pronouncement seen as a prelude to UN sanctions on Sudan.

Musa claimed that Powell's stance was only based on so-called observations of a US team that had "never set foot in Darfur."

According to Musa, the US observation team had merely interviewed refugees in Chad living in camps that were safe havens for leaders of the rebel movements.

"So the influence of the rebel movements on the outcome of the American investigation cannot be overstated," he said.

The Sudanese senior diplomat said that Powell's characterization was in stark contrast to the more thoughtful assessment of the European Union, the African Union, the Arab League, the Non-Aligned Movement and the International Red Cross.

Musa said it was surprised that Powell who admitted that the two rebel groups kidnapped relief workers, failed to hold them accountable for the killing, looting and the burning of villages in Sudan.

"Besides, while the US senators at the hearing agreed without supporting evidence that the government of Sudan has armed and trained the Janjaweed, none asked who armed and trained the two rebel groups," Musa said.

"This is in spite of the fact that Senator Jon Corzine and former US ambassador to the UN Richard Holbrooke wrote in the Washington Post on Sept. 8, that the rebels receive outside assistance primarily from Sudan's eastern neighbor Eritrea," he added.

Musa said that Powell's declaration had only worsened the war as rebel groups currently at the Abuja talks had already declared the peace talks dead.

"They (rebels) have declared the peace talks dead and pledged to wage a full scale war from all directions to bring down the government of Sudan," Musa said.

The conflict in Darfur, described by the United Nations the world's current worst humanitarian crisis, has left more than 10,000 dead and over 1 million others displaced since February 2003.

On July 15, the African Union brokered a political dialogue in the Ethiopian capital of Addis Ababa between the Sudanese government and the two rebel groups, yet the talks collapsed due to differences on various issues.

The Abuja meeting, which opened on Aug. 23, is another effort by the 53-nation African bloc to help bring about a political solution to the crisis in Darfur.

Source: Xinhua