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UN chief blasts Sudan offensive in North Darfur

UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan on Monday blasted a Sudanese government onslaught against rebels in strife-torn Darfur as Security Council members vented mounting exasperation with Khartoum's refusal to accept a UN takeover of peacekeeping there.

Annan briefed the 15-member council on "deeply dismaying reports of renewed fighting, particularly in North Darfur."

"Thousands of Sudan Armed Forces troops have been deployed to the area, in clear violation of the Darfur Peace Agreement. Even worse, the area has been subjected to renewed aerial bombing," Annan said. "I strongly condemn this escalation. The government should stop its offensive immediately."

He said that humanitarian workers have continued to be targets of "brutal violence, physical harassment and rhetorical vilification" and that the humanitarian gains of the past two years "are being rolled back."

Annan said the latest fighting "shows utter disregard" for the Darfur Peace Agreement, signed in Nigeria last May by Khartoum and the main Darfur rebel movement. Two other rebel groups have refused to sign the deal.

Several council members appealed to Khartoum to accept council resolution 1706, which authorized deployment of 20,000 UN peacekeepers to take over from African Union forces in Darfur.

"I have tried repeatedly to explain the transition to the [Sudanese] government, and to clear up any misconceptions or myths," Annan told the council session, which was attended by representatives of Sudan, the Arab League, the Organization of the Islamic Conference and the African Union.

"Once again, I urge the government of Sudan to embrace the spirit of resolution 1706, to give its consent to the transition," the UN chief added.

"It is time now for additional voices to make themselves heard. We need governments and individual leaders in Africa and beyond, that are in a position to influence the government of Sudan, to bring that pressure to bear without delay. There must also be a clear, strong and uniform message from this council," he added.

Speaking in Halifax, Canada, US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said she met with her Sudanese counterpart Lam Akol in Washington earlier on Monday warned that any improvement in relations between the two countries depended on Sudan's cooperation with the deployment of a UN force in Darfur.

"I won't say that we made progress, but I will say that we delivered the strongest possible message in the strongest possible terms to the Sudanese government, that any hope for bettering relations between the United States and Sudan rests on Sudan's cooperation with the UN Security Council resolut-ion," she said.

Akol brought a letter to US President George W. Bush and sought improved ties with Washington, Rice told reporters in Halifax, where she was attending a Sept. 11 commemoration.

Meanwhile, Annan warned that the consequences of Khartoum's current attitude would be yet more death and suffering, perhaps on a catastrophic scale for the people of Darfur, but also "opprobrium and disgrace [for the Sudanese government] in the eyes of all Africa, and the whole international community."

During a visit to Libya on Saturday, Sudanese President Omar al-Beshir again "categorically" rejected resolution 1706.

But his government earlier said it remained open to talks with the international community after Annan warned that Sudanese leaders could be held accountable over the rejection of UN peacekeepers for Darfur.
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