Washington, May 19: The United States on Tuesday condemned a Sudanese army offensive against rebels in Sudan’s western Darfur region, saying the action endangered civilians and caused them to flee the region en masse.
Sudanese army forces said on Saturday they have seized control of a key Darfur rebel stronghold, killing 108 members of the Justice and Equality Movement in the restive Jebel Moon area.
“The United States condemns the recent offensive actions in Darfur, particularly the government of Sudan’s use of aerial bombings and local militias against Darfur rebel positions in the Jebel Moon area of West Darfur,” State Department spokesman Philip Crowley told reporters.
“Such operations endanger civilians and lead to mass displacement,” he said.
“Subsequent incidents of looting and attacks on infrastructure by the Justice and Equality Movement further endanger civilian populations and must immediately cease,” Crowley added.
“We urge both the government of Sudan and the Darfur rebel movements to refrain from any further actions that would undermine the Darfur peace process or endanger civilians,” the spokesman said.
The United States, he added, urges “all parties to return to active negotiations” in the peace process mediated by the African Union and the United Nations in Doha, Qatar in order to reach a political settlement to the conflict.
“We also call on the government of Sudan to grant access to the affected areas to the African Union-United Nations Hybrid Operation in Darfur (UNAMID) and to humanitarian organizations,” he said, reading a statement.
The government in Khartoum and the JEM have suspended peace talks after the rebel group accused Sudan’s military of attacking its positions last month.
It said that Khartoum was trying to impose a “military solution” to the seven-year-old Darfur conflict, which the United Nations estimates has killed 300,000 people.
Khartoum, which says 10,000 people died since Darfuri ethnic rebels took up arms in 2003, denied having launched an offensive.
—Agencies