US accuses Sudan of attacks in Darfur

The United States accused Sudan today of playing a direct role in attacks against African villagers in Darfur and said the United…

The United States accused Sudan today of playing a direct role in attacks against African villagers in Darfur and said the United Nations needed to be tougher in getting Khartoum to accept thousands of African monitors.

US Ambassador John Danforth challenged the United Nations' failure to emphasize Sudan's involvement in the crisis. And he criticized UN officials for suggesting that fielding African Union observers would be conditional on whether or not Sudan was able to protect its people in Darfur.

Mr Danforth spoke after Mr Jan Pronk, the UN envoy for Sudan, briefed the 15-member UN Security Council on his report, issued under Secretary-General Kofi Annan's name. He also called for increased African Union monitors and outlined a broader mandate to stop abuses.

Mr Pronk cited Khartoum's failure to stop marauding Arab militia, known as Janjaweed, from killing, raping and attacking African civilians in an 18-month terror campaign over arable farm land and other issues.

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But he said Sudan had made progress in about 10 areas in stemming the crisis that has displaced over a million people.

"The fact of the matter is that the Government of Sudan has been directly involved in attacks on villages," Mr Danforth said. "If the job of providing security is provided exclusively by people who have been dropping bombs on the people of Darfur, the people of Darfur are going to say, 'what kind of protection is this?'"

The 53-member African Union now has some 80 monitors and 300 troops to protect them in Darfur to report on a fragile cease-fire between African rebels and government forces. The United Nations has proposed about 3,000 AU military observers and troops and another 1,100 police to observe all abuses.