UN, US condemn rebels' violation of cease-fire in Darfur

The United Nations and the United States on Wednesday strongly condemned the recent violation of a cease-fire by the rebels in Sudan's troubled region of Darfur.

UN special envoy to Sudan Jan Pronk blamed the Sudan Liberation Army (SLA), one of the two rebel groups in Darfur, for violating a security protocol signed earlier this month in Abuja, Nigeria.

"The SLA is accountable for a breach not only of the cease-firebut of the recently signed Abuja protocol on security," said the envoy.

Khartoum and both Darfur rebel groups signed a cease-fire in April but the two sides have accused each other of repeated violations.

Hopes for peace in Darfur brightened on Nov. 9 as the conflicting parties inked a humanitarian and security protocol in the Nigerian capital of Abuja to end the 21-month-old crisis.

In a press statement, Pronk urged both the Sudanese government and the Darfur rebels to settle their disputes peacefully at the negotiation table.

He stressed that Khartoum should restrain itself from escalating the situation in Darfur, noting that self-restraint means that the actions taken by the government should be equivalent to the deeds committed by the rebels.

According to a UN report, the SLA attacked and seized the Tawilla town in the North Darfur state, forcing the suspension of aid deliveries to El Fashir, the capital of North Darfur, and threatening other humanitarian activities in the region.

A London-based SLA spokesman warned on Wednesday that the group will resume fighting to oust the government of President Omar al-Beshir.

"All the war now is starting again. We are ready for everything," he said. Violence flared up in February 2003 between Janjaweed militia and local farmers in Sudan's barren Darfur region over scarce water and other natural resources.

So far, thousands of people have been killed and about one million refugees have been internally displaced or fled to neighboring Chad.

Sudanese Foreign Minister Mustafa Othman Ismail said about 30 policemen had been killed in clashes with the rebels over the past two days, but Khartoum would do its best to restrain itself in response to the violations.

"The self-restraint means the response will come within the framework of the government's commitment that the civilians will not be affected by what happens between the government and the rebels," noted Ismail.

In Washington, the US State Department also demanded an immediate end to the fresh violence in Darfur.

"The United Stated strongly condemns the escalating violence and continued cease-fire violations taking place in Darfur," said State Department spokesman Adam Ereli on Wednesday.

"This fighting must stop immediately," he said, terming it a "clear violation" of cease-fire and security protocols. "The latest incidents of violence were instigated by the Sudan Liberation Army, and they have resulted in the suspension of humanitarian activities in the areas of fighting," he added.

Meanwhile, US President George W. Bush will meet with his Nigerian counterpart, Olusegun Obasanjo, on Dec. 2 to discuss the Darfur crisis, "The two leaders will discuss the situation in Darfur, Sudan and Cote d'Ivoire," the White House said in a statement on Wednesday.

Obasanjo, who is currently chairman of the African Union (AU), has been leading the AU efforts to settle the crisis in Darfur.

Source: Xinhua