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| Africa: Horn |
| Sudan Delaying Supplies to Dafur |
| 2004-05-28 |
| From The Washington Post Less than a week after the Sudanese government agreed to allow U.N. relief agencies into Darfur province to care for more than a million homeless civilians, Khartoum has raised new obstacles that could delay the delivery of lifesaving supplies to the area for months, according to a senior U.N. official. The United Nations’ emergency relief coordinator, Jan Egeland, said that Sudanese officials told the U.N. Children’s Fund that all medical supplies shipped into the country had to be tested at Sudanese laboratories. He also said Khartoum has insisted that food and other relief supplies be transported on Sudanese trucks and distributed exclusively by Sudanese charities or government agencies. "Given the almost nonexistent capacity of Sudanese [nongovernmental organizations] like the Sudanese Red Crescent Society, the enforcement of this restriction would have a devastating impact," Egeland told the 15-nation council on Wednesday. "If the government wants to prevent a famine from occurring, these restrictions on international NGOs and non-Sudanese trucks have to be lifted without delay." .... U.S. and U.N. officials have warned that hundreds of thousands will die from disease or starvation in Darfur unless international relief agencies are granted full access to the region. ....Facing intense international criticism, the Sudanese government agreed on May 20 to a request by U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan to speed up the processing of visas and drop permit requirements for travel to Darfur. .... But Egeland told the council this week that Sudan has continued to harass U.N. officials and block access to international charities seeking to distribute aid. Egeland said that one U.N. employee was recently threatened with expulsion "if he raised even once any concerns related to the protection of civilians." .... |
| Posted by:Mike Sylwester |
| #2 I'm with Ed on the first half -- arm the Darfur tribes and let them fight back. Not to enslave but as another example of democratic liberation. A few Special Forces guys, some arms and ammo, some training, a few guys trained to lug mortars around, a couple of guys with radios to Spooky up thar somewheres, all eminently deniable, of course [as we say, Lies! All lies!]. Janjaweed fools won't know what hit 'em til it's too late. This is the kind of skullduggery our CIA is supposed to be good at. |
| Posted by: Steve White 2004-05-28 2:09:16 PM |
| #1 Arm the blacks and let them enslave the Arabs. Any survivors can join the rest of their Master Race in Arabia. |
| Posted by: ed 2004-05-28 1:32:14 PM |