Darfur MPs urge international intervention

Members of Sudan's National Assembly from Darfur have appealed for international intervention to stop killings and displacement in the region. "There has to be a quick international intervention to protect civilians because they are dying - nearly 50 to 100 a week," one MP told IRIN. "There is an international responsibility to intervene as quickly as possible." Fighting in Darfur between Arab militias and rebel groups, which escalated in March this year, has driven an estimated 670,000 people from their homes, 70,000 of whom have fled across the border into neighbouring Chad. The MPs emphasised the political nature of the conflict, accusing the Sudanese government of manipulating traditional ethnic tensions and pursuing a policy of "Arabisation" in Darfur, in order to maintain a support base there. The Sudanese government strongly denies backing the militias, known as the Janjaweed (meaning "a man with a horse and a gun"). It says it has urged all tribes in Darfur to “defend” themselves against rebels in the region. The MPs have demanded that the Darfur issue be discussed at peace talks underway in Kenya between the government and main rebel group, Sudan People's Liberation Movement/Army (SPLM/A). “There has to be a peace settlement in Darfur before signing a comprehensive agreement,” said one MP. “It has to be treated equally with the rest of the marginalised areas." The MPs described a separate peace process – which led to a three-month ceasefire from September to December - between the government and the Darfur rebel Sudan Liberation Army (SLA) as “a waste of time”. Chad, which has been brokering the talks, is also seen by many Darfurians as a partial mediator. “Any negotiation that is not monitored by the international community will lead to nothing,“ said the MP. “Chad alone cannot broker peace – it is also affected by this war. Tribes from Chad are fighting in Sudan and they are affected politically so it cannot act independently,” said another. In 1990, Chadian President Idris Deby toppled his predecessor Hissein Habre in a coup. Observers note that Deby, a Zaghawa, was given support and sanctuary by the Zaghawans – one of Darfur’s main ethnic groups - on the Sudanese side of the border. A regional analyst told IRIN that Deby, who maintains good relations with the Sudanese government and is keen to pacify his Zaghawa constituency at home, wants to contain the Darfur conflict to prevent it from spilling over into Chad. “Deby is very aware of what a rebellion among the Zaghawa in Sudan could do to harm him," the analyst said.