AFRICA/SUDAN - Darfur: talks and negotiations continue but civilians continue to die. Humanitarian agencies warn: “Our aid is seriously constrained and our desperation may seem intolerable, but it is nothing compared to that of the victims and millions of displaced”

Khartoum (Agenzia Fides)- “The Sudanese government continues to reject UN resolution 1706 but it is willing to talk with the United Nations Organisation of which it is a member”, said government media spokesman Manjub Fadul Badri, launching a positive sign to the international community pressing for a stop to violence in Darfur. Resolution 1706 increased the number of UN peacekeepers in Sudan UNMISS from 12.273 to 17.300 soldiers and 3,300 police to support African Union mission in Darfur. Deployed in 2005 the 7,000 AU troops have failed to take control of the region. In three years civil strife has caused 300,000 deaths and left 2.5 million displaced persons.
The Sudanese government statement follows President Omar el Beshir’s meeting with Arab League secretary general Araba Amr Mussa. Although it still rejects the presence of UN troops in Darfur Sudan is willing to talk with the international organisation to help stabilise the tormented region. At the end of the meeting Mussa said the Sudanese President was about to launch initiatives to boost UN cooperation with AU on the question of Darfur. During the meeting Sudan’s foreign minister Lam Akol handed Beshir a message from UN secretary general Kofi Annan on the situation in Darfur. The message includes “a plan of logistic support for AU forces, equipment and advice”, said presidential spokesman Badri, adding that Sudan is in favour of “any kind of assistance to the African mission” and that Beshir would respond positively” to the message from Annan. Badri said Amr Mussa promised to continue his search for support for the AU mission.
The urgency of an intervention to guarantee security for the civilians in Darfur is underlined by the international agencies operating in the region. UN High Commissioner for Refugees António Guterres, said “At the same time, faced with a situation like Darfur, the role of organizations such as ours is severely constrained. That may seem intolerable, yet our desperation is nothing next to that of the victims and millions of displaced. In the absence of a clear framework for the exercise of the so-called responsibility to protect, the international community remains basically powerless. The insecurity bred in Darfur has spread to Chad and threatens the Central African Republic itself.”
Darfur has been devastated by civil strife between government troops and rebels, at least 300,000 lives have been lost and 2.5 million people have been displaced. (L.M.) (Agenzia Fides 4/10/2006 righe 40 parole 501)