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Sudan Tribune

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France to express concern over Sudan’s troubled Darfur?

Renaud_Muselier.jpgPARIS, Sept 14, 2004 (KUNA) — French officials will deliver a “constant message” ‏‏of concern for the security, humanitarian and political situation in the ‏Darfur region of Western Sudan when a Sudanese Ministerial delegation meets ‏‏French Junior Minister for Foreign Affairs Renaud Muselier [photo] Tuesday evening.‏

‏Official sources said that France will maintain its position that there is ‏‏”urgency” on the security front and “the obligation is to put an end to the ‏‏brutality of the different militias, notably the “Janjaweed,” who are supported ‏‏by the authorities in Khartoum.‏


Foreign Ministry spokesman Herve Ladsous said that concerning the ‏‏much-feared “Janjaweed” militia, “the Sudanese government has a clear ‏‏obligation to act, an obligation confirmed the resolution of the (UN) Security ‏‏Council last month.”‏


The Sudanese delegation is headed by Junior Minister for Foreign Affairs ‏‏Fidail Al-Tijani and Junior Minister for Humanitarian Affairs, Mohammed Yusef ‏‏and the delegation has been touring Europe to give Khartoum’s view of the ‏‏crisis.‏

France will also reiterate the need to improve the humanitarian situation ‏‏for the ethnic African populations in Darfur, who have been the targets of ‏‏brutal repression and have been chased from their villages. Sudan argues that it is fighting a rebellion in the area and it is ‏‏true there are two militias fighting the government-backed forces.

These ‏‏militias have also broken the cease-fire agreements brokered in the Nigerian ‏‏town of Abuja, but which are difficult to implement on the ground.‏

Ladsous said the Abuja talks were “globally advancing, even if we regret the ‏‏slowness” of progress.‏

He noted that the crisis was “extremely grave, extremely worrying,” but ‏‏France has resisted attempts by the United States to get a resolution in the ‏‏UN putting sanctions on Sudan.‏

France rejects the US term of genocide for what is happening in Darfur, ‏‏preferring the term “massive violation of human rights.”‏

‏More than 1.2 million people have been displaced by the fighting and the ‏‏”Janjaweed” sweeps of the area. Many refugees are on the border with Chad or ‏‏have fled to that neighbouring country and UN agencies say 10,000 people a ‏‏week are dying from a variety of diseases and hunger, but mainly from ‏ ‏diarrhoea.‏

UN officials also complained that they have not had enough resource pledged ‏‏to help with the Darfur disaster.

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