Government denies US description of Darfur conflict as genocide

The Sudanese government has rejected the description by the United States of the conflict in Sudan's western region of Darfur as genocide, and accused Washington of exploiting a humanitarian crisis for political gain. Presenting testimony on Darfur to the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Thursday in Washington, US Secretary of State Colin Powell, said "genocide has been committed in Darfur". Powell said: "the government of Sudan and the Janjawid (militia) bear responsibility [and] genocide may still be occurring." Powell said his conclusion that genocide had been committed in Darfur was based on testimonies recorded by US investigators from 1,136 refugees and displaced people who fled their villages in Darfur. "Those interviews indicated a consistent and widespread pattern of atrocities - killings, rapes, burning of villages - committed by Janjawid and government forces against non-Arab villagers," said Powell. "Three-fourths of those interviewed reported that Sudanese military forces were involved in the attacks [and} villagers often experienced multiple attacks over a prolonged period before they were destroyed by burning, shelling or bombing, making it impossible for the villagers to return to their villages," he added. "This was a coordinated effort, not just random violence." But Sudan's Foreign Minister Mustafa Osman Ismail told the BBC on Friday that Washington was using the crisis in Darfur to deflect international attention from its problems in Iraq, where US forces are fighting dissidents opposed to American military presence there. "They should not use a humanitarian problem for political agenda," said Ismail. A US State Department report, released on Thursday, said more than 405 villages in Darfur had been completely destroyed, and another 123 substantially damaged since February 2003. It said the non-Arab population there had continued to suffer from crimes against humanity. "A review of 1,136 interviews shows a consistent pattern of atrocities, suggesting close coordination between the government of Sudan forces and Arab militia elements, commonly known as the Janjawid," the report said. "Despite the current cease-fire and UN Security Council Resolution 1556, Janjawid violence against civilians has continued." "Refugees who fled the violence... spoke [of]: joint government of Sudan [GOS] military and Janjawid attacks; strafing by helicopter gun ships followed by ground attacks by the GOS military in vehicles and Janjawid on horseback; males being shot or knifed; and women being abducted or raped," it noted. "Survey results indicate that most Sudanese refugees state that Janjawid militias and GOS military forces collaborate in carrying out systematic attacks against non-Arab villages in Darfur," the state department added. The report titled "Documenting Atrocities in Darfur", can be found at: www.state.gov In a related development, the United States has said that it had received a "very positive" response at the UN Security Council after it circulated a draft resolution outlining measures to address the security and humanitarian crises in Darfur. US Ambassador John Danforth, speaking to reporters after the Council held closed consultations on the issue on Thursday, said he was hopeful that the Council could pass a resolution on the matter by next week. He said the 15 members recognised that Council action was necessary, and stressed the need for the African Union (AU), which has a team of monitors in place in Darfur, to play a vital role. "The importance of getting an outside presence into Darfur to monitor the situation is something that's impossible to overstate. That provides the most immediate assurance to the people of that region that they will have some protection," the UN News Service quoted Danforth as saying. At least 1.2 million people in Darfur are internally displaced and another 200,000 have fled over the border into neighbouring Chad because of attacks by the Janjawid militias and because of fighting between government soldiers and two rebel groups.