The American Secretary of State, Colin Powell has announced that the crisis in Sudan’s Darfur region amounts to genocide. He demanded that the United Nations begin an immediate investigation into exactly what is happening in the region, and to speedily impose sanctions against Khartoum.
In a speech to the Senate, Powell reported that the US had compiled evidence that “concluded that genocide has been committed in Darfur and the government of Sudan and the Janjaweed bear responsibility, and that genocide may still be occurring."
The Janjaweed militia have supposedly been backed by the Sudanese government in the atrocities they have continued to commit.
It has been reported that up to 50,000 people have been killed and that 1.4 million more have been displaced in the campaign of terror against black Africans in the region. The killing began in February 2003 when an attempt was made to put down a rebel uprising.
President George Bush also expressed his anguish over the events in Darfur and backed the view that genocide had been committed. He said "The United States is appalled by the violence in Darfur, Sudan.”
"The threat of sanctions is still out there, over them, particularly on the sector that is of greatest concern to them,” her added.
The Secretary of State also highlighted the fact that the international community was very reluctant to put in place sanctions as they are worried that they might fail. However, Powell was confident that the European Union would back the United States’ efforts.
The UN Security Council showed division this week over the proposed US resolution, and in particular, Russia, Pakistan and China voiced very strong objections to the draft, which they argued hung the threat of sanctions over Sudan.
The resolution given by America is similar to the one given on July 30, which insisted that Khartoum lay down their arms, and that further steps be taken to end the violence, otherwise international sanctions would follow.
Meanwhile Sudan has denied that there is a genocide in Darfur, and cast doubt that moves to impose sanctions would be successful: “This is just another sort of pressure brought against the government of Sudan by the United States and Western governments,” Finance Minister Ahmed Hassan al-Zubeir said after leaving an African Union Summit.
Abdelhafiz Mustafa Musa, a rebel spokesman for the Sudan Liberation Movement, welcomed the new progression by the USA, and said that the Sudanese government and the Janjaweed “continued to kill innocent civilians.”
