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"We all recognized that the rebels must also do the same," Kerry said. |
KHARTOUM — Extolling government's willingness to establish peace in the violence-wracked province, US Senator John Kerry on Wednesday, April 16, urged Darfur rebels to engage in peace talks with Khartoum.
"What encouraged me today was the fact that every member of the government told me that they are ready to come to the table now with respect to peace discussions and achieving peace in Darfur," Kerry, the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said, Agence France-Presse (AFP) reported.
"But we all recognized that the rebels must also do the same," he added after talks with Sudan's second vice president Ali Osman Mohammed Taha.
Kerry arrived in Sudan on Wednesday on a three-day visit -- the second by a US official since the International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir on war crimes in Darfur.
He is due to travel to the war-torn province on Friday to see the situation first-hand and meet local leaders and UN officials.
The Darfur conflict broke out in February 2003 when rebels took up arms against the Khartoum regime accusing it of discrimination and favoring Arab tribes.
The UN estimates some 300,000 people have died from the combined impact of war, famine and drought in Darfur.
Khartoum puts the death toll at 10,000.
Several rounds of peace talks between the Khartoum government and rebels broke out.
Last year, the chief of the UN-African Union mission in Darfur said the international community should not only blame the Sudan government over the Darfur conflict, leaving the splintered rebel movements portrayed as saints.
Aid
The US Senator said that Khartoum has also agreed to allow some international aid back into Darfur.
"(Following Khartoum's decision) to engage in a new dialogue with us, some of that capacity for the humanitarian assistance will be restored," Kerry said.
Sudan has expelled 13 foreign aid agencies following the ICC warrant against Bashir, accusing them of spying for the international tribunal.
Some 4.7 million people rely on humanitarian aid in Darfur, where the United Nations runs its largest aid operation in the world with the help of non-governmental organizations.
Khartoum has said Sudanese groups have been filling the gaps left by the expelled groups and that there is no problem with aid distribution.
"A partial restoration of capacity is not sufficient. A humanitarian crisis is a humanitarian crisis," the US Senator said.
"Time is of the essence to avert a humanitarian catastrophe.
"Darfur, as we all know all have been at the center of events that have been defining Sudan for the world," he said.
"It is also been the scene of the world largest humanitarian efforts supported by the United States and carried out by many dedicated Sudanese and international humanitarian organizations." |
