Bashir Visits Darfur, Pledges Sudan Will Protect Relief Work

Bashir Visits Darfur, Pledges Sudan Will Protect Relief Workers
By Paul Tighe

July 24 (Bloomberg) -- Sudan's President Umar al-Bashir, indicted by the International Criminal Court for alleged war crimes in the Darfur conflict, visited the region yesterday and pledged to provide security for international relief workers.

"We are ready to provide any assistance that will help you do your work,'' al-Bashir said at a meeting with Rodolphe Adada, the United Nations-African Union representative, according to the UN's Web site. The meeting took place in El-Fasher, the capital of North Darfur state.

Al-Bashir, accompanied by international journalists, was making his first visit to the region in three years, the Associated Press reported. Sudanese television showed the president greeting cheering crowds and, on one occasion, breaking into a traditional dance, the news agency said.

The war in Darfur, a region in western Sudan almost the size of France, has killed as many as 300,000 people and forced 2 million to flee their homes since 2003. Prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo asked the ICC in The Hague July 14 to issue an arrest warrant for al-Bashir over alleged genocide and crimes against humanity in the conflict.

Sudan's government has vowed to resist any attempt to arrest the 64-year-old leader. The AU criticized the planned indictment, saying it won't help end the crisis in Darfur.

UN Mission

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon last week called on Sudan and the president to ``ensure that UN peacekeeping operations are able to carry out their mission.''

The UN began relocating non-essential workers from Darfur to neighboring countries 10 days ago following an attack on a joint UN-AU peacekeeping force in which seven soldiers died. The relocation was suspended last week after about 300 personnel were moved out.

The UN-AU mission has thousands of containers waiting to be moved ``along the difficult and sometimes dangerous routes into Darfur,'' the UN cited Adada as saying yesterday. Sudan's government must ensure the convoys reach their destinations safely, he said.

Al-Bashir came to Darfur ``to send a message'' that the ICC has no case, AP cited Abdel Mahmoud al-Koronky, a member of the ruling National Congress Party, as saying while traveling with the president yesterday. At one stopover, al-Bashir announced he would release more than 80 rebels imprisoned for taking part in an attack near the capital, Khartoum, in May, AP said.

The rebel Justice and Equity Movement, led by Khalil Ibrahim, said July 15 it is planning a new attack on Khartoum because the government isn't committed to peace in Darfur.

On May 10, JEM rebels entered the town of Omdurman, across the Nile river from Khartoum. More than 200 people were killed in the assault, AP reported May 13. At least 100 people were arrested after the attack, including Islamist opposition leader Hassan al-Turabi, according to New York-based Human Rights Watch.

The Darfur conflict began when rebels seeking a larger role in Sudan's political life and a bigger slice of the country's expanding oil wealth attacked the government. The government responded by dispatching military forces and arming militias, commonly known as the Janjaweed, to attack areas accused of supporting the rebels.

Interesting turn of events, but forgive me if I'm a tad sceptical.

The forum title says 'Dafur', dummy.

-HECK!

Listen, buddy, I take spelling lessons from nobody. Not you, not Merriam Webster, not Oxford. Nobody!