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U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Susan Rice
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03 February 2009
U.S. Gravely Concerned About Escalating Violence in Darfur, February 3, 2009(Ambassador Rice says current violence in Muhajiriya is worrisome)
By Merle David Kellerhals Jr.
Staff Writer
Washington — The United States has expressed “grave concern” about recent bombing raids in a southern Darfur town in Sudan and ongoing fighting between Sudanese government forces and rebels.
The U.N. Security Council held a closed-door meeting on Darfur and other regional issues February 3. U.S. Ambassador Susan Rice said the council was told at its meeting that 28 bombs were dropped by government forces that morning in the south Darfur settlement of Muhajiriya, where fighting has raged between government troops and rebels from the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) and others for nearly two weeks.
“And the [U.N. Secretariat] had also reported that these [bombing raids] had occurred despite the fact that JEM forces have pulled back from the town,” Rice said. It has been proposed, she added, that “Muhajiriya be turned into a demilitarized area and UNAMID be allowed to take up positions throughout the area and protect civilians.”
UNAMID is the joint United Nations – African Union Hybrid Operation in Darfur, which was authorized by a Security Council resolution in July 2007. The mission was authorized to support implementation of the Darfur Peace Agreement and provide protection for civilians.
The peace agreement was signed in May 2006 under the auspices of the African Union and with United Nations support.
Rice said the bombardment continues and the Sudanese government has prevented UNAMID personnel from moving into the town to investigate, which is a violation of the status of forces agreement between UNAMID and the government.
“So this is clearly a very worrisome situation, and the risk that the violence will escalate, that the government will continue its bombing and indeed a ground campaign, despite the fact that the JEM is not in Muhajiriya anymore, is of grave concern,” Rice said.
The Security Council will be monitoring the crisis closely, and it will be working toward a presidential statement that will condemn the violence, call for a cease-fire and urge an end to bombing raids in the broader effort to protect civilians, Rice said.
The United Nations has reported that as many as 300,000 people have died and more than 2.5 million have been driven from their homes in the Darfur region of Sudan since rebel groups took up arms against the Sudanese government and its Janjaweed militia in 2003.
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