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| Africa: Horn |
| Britain: Military Intervention May be Necessary in Sudan |
| 2004-06-18 |
| Britain's foreign aid chief says the international community may have to intervene militarily in Sudan's western Darfur region if the security situation does not improve. Mr. Benn has recently returned from a visit to Darfur, where more than one million black African residents have fled their homes to escape attacks from government-backed Arab militiamen fighting two local rebel groups. "We have got one million people displaced within Darfur. We have got about 180,000 people who have fled over the border into Chad," he said. "And in one sense, the most worrying thing is not only the circumstances in which they find themselves, but what about the people whose circumstances we do not know about. And it really is a race against time to save lives." Mr. Benn says Britain is lending financial and moral support to an African Union mission, which hopes to deploy 120 cease-fire monitors in Darfur by the end of July. He says Britain also will fund a U.N. human rights monitoring team seeking Sudanese government permission to work in Darfur. However, he says if the fighting continues despite those efforts, the international community may have to consider military intervention. "If there is continuing insecurity, then the world community is going to have to consider what more can be done to ensure that the flow of people leaving their homes does not continue," he added. "Because if there are continued attacks and people have to flee, then it is adding to the scale of the problem. And secondly, to consider what can be done to provide conditions of security, which, in time, will allow people to go home." The Sudanese government places most of the blame for the violence in Darfur on the Sudan Liberation Army and the Justice and Equality Movement. The rebel groups began fighting 16 months ago, saying the Arab-controlled government in Khartoum was ignoring the needs of the region's predominately black population. |
| Posted by:Fred |
| #7 SMN, I have a strong desire to protect Anamists and Christians against the Arab butchers - but maybe that is just my Zionist controlers speaking through me. It's hard to tell as I can never find the cords that must be controlling my actions. -- As the OIC has pointed out time an again, its all about Israel. |
| Posted by: Super Hose 2004-06-19 12:35:37 AM |
| #6 "W", please don't do it!! Just don't do it...Not one American is worth the scum the Sudan has to offer. Just relax...take a deep breath and let the EU handle it. You can even share my popcorn!! |
| Posted by: smn 2004-06-18 10:49:36 PM |
| #5 I don't know if anyone here reads Soldier of Fortune, but there's an old article from 2002 about an American mercenary working (pro bono?) as a sniper/marksmanship trainer for the rebels in the south. Also, there was another article on a "private military company" operating in Africa; this company could operate for two months (?) at the cost that a UN peacekeeping operation would take to operate for two DAYS ... |
| Posted by: Edward Yee 2004-06-18 10:34:07 PM |
| #4 Britain's foreign aid chief says the international community may have to intervene militarily in Sudan's western Darfur region if the security situation does not improve. Hey, great! EU, this is your second chance to get it right (the Balkans was the first, and was a total failure, but we'll forget that for now), where you can prove that you're worthy of being a "power". So c'mon, hop to it! Chop chop!!! |
| Posted by: Bomb-a-rama 2004-06-18 9:33:17 PM |
| #3 The international community will continue doing what it has always done -- cluck its disapproval while arming the genocidal maniacs and blaming the victims for their very existence. |
| Posted by: Robert Crawford 2004-06-18 9:15:45 PM |
| #2 I suggest supplying the Christians and Animists with small arms,M-113 troop carrers(hell of alot of those floating around the inventory),M-60 tanks,AAA and Stingers.Let the SAS train them,cut them loose,stand back and enjoy the show.I do not imagine the Christians and Animiasts are in a very mercifull frame of mind. |
| Posted by: Raptor 2004-06-18 9:03:54 PM |
| #1 Start in Khartoum |
| Posted by: Frank G 2004-06-18 9:01:40 PM |