Powell warns time nearly out in Darfur
KHARTOUM, Sudan — Secretary of State Colin Powell, warning that thousands of people are condemned to die in the strife-torn Darfur region even with an immediate influx of aid, met Tuesday night with President Omar Bahsir of Sudan to deliver a blunt message that the situation has become intolerable.
Powell, who is scheduled to visit Darfur today to draw attention to the crisis, said he urged the Sudanese government to halt its sponsorship of marauding Arab militia groups that have killed thousands of black Africans and made more than a million people homeless.
The Bush administration has said it would use punitive sanctions, such as a ban on travel to the United States or a freeze on U.S. assets, against leaders of the Arab militias and possibly Sudanese officials found complicit in the attacks. Powell said that he would consult with U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan, who is also in Sudan, about the text of a U.S.-sponsored Security Council resolution that would criticize Sudan for failing to halt the violence.
Annan has suggested international peacekeepers might be one option in Darfur, but Powell said that was “very problematic,” citing the size of the region and difficulties in operating there. He recommended that the Sudanese government exercise control of the militias.
Powell said he asked that the government — which has repeatedly denied mass suffering in Darfur — also begin political negotiations with rebel groups in the region and give humanitarian groups full access.
Powell, the highest-level U.S. official to visit Sudan in more than 25 years, emerged from the meetings with Bahsir and other senior Sudanese leaders to report that he received a “very clear statement” from Bahsir that he would “remove any bureaucratic impediment” that is blocking delivery of aid.
Foreign Minister Mostafa Osman Ismail insisted there was “no famine … no epidemic of diseases.” But he acknowledged that “we still have to do more” because of the onset of the rainy season in Darfur. Powell came armed with satellite photos showing whole villages wiped out and statistics demonstrating that most camps lack food and water.