Bloody denials

As the crisis in Darfur takes more and more lives the Sudanese government continues to deny any responsibility, writes Gamal Nkrumah

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Sudanese refugee women gather at the Zam Zam camp in Darfur. Approximately one million black Africans have been displaced during the conflict

It has been a rough week for the Sudanese government. The United States and the European Union are stepping up pressure on Sudan to stop backing Arab militias in Darfur, while the Sudanese authorities vigorously deny that they are providing that support in the first place. The US and the EU are now calling for comprehensive United Nations sanctions against Sudan. As for military intervention by the West, visiting US Secretary of State Colin Powell said in Cairo that military intervention is not necessary at the moment.

The US introduced a draft resolution at the UN Security Council to indict Sudanese authorities for failing to contain the humanitarian catastrophe in Darfur and for arming the Janjaweed, whom Western humanitarian and rights groups blame for the escalating tragedy. Western powers accuse the Sudanese authorities of not honouring their commitment to disarm the Janjaweed militias. The Sudanese government and allied militiamen, the West argues, are engaged in a deadly war of attrition with the non-Arab population of Darfur. The Sudanese government, in turn, has threatened retaliation in the event of any military intervention, if only to prove it is still punching.

The 25 EU member states concurred this week with the US that Sudan must be brought to book. African and Arab states, however, argue that Sudan must be given sufficient time to honour its international pledges and rein in the Janjaweed militiamen.

The Sudanese authorities on Tuesday issued a statement condemning the possibility of foreign military intervention in Darfur. With President Omar Hassan Al-Beshir on a tour of Arab countries, an extraordinary cabinet meeting was held in Khartoum on Tuesday chaired by Vice President Ali Osman Mohamed Taha.

"We are not looking for confrontation and we hope that we will not be pushed," warned Sudanese Foreign Minister Mustafa Osman Ismail. "The West makes things harder in the region," he added.

Armed opposition groups in Darfur took up arms against Sudanese government forces in February 2003. The Sudanese government retaliated by launching heavy and continued aerial bombardment of the civilian population of Darfur, sending a stream of refugees into neighbouring Chad. The government, Sudan analysts note, had to clamp down hard on the armed opposition groups in Darfur.

The Arab League and the African Union (AU) say that tensions could also have been tempered by a more diplomatic approach by the international community. In sharp contrast, the West, and in particular Washington, believes that Khartoum must be forced into line.

The AU, with the Sudanese government's approval, has deployed a 300-strong contingent in Darfur, but critics say that the number is hopelessly insufficient to keep the peace and patrol a region the size of France. Meanwhile the Sudanese government has dispatched 6,000 policemen to keep the peace in the sprawling war-torn region. But armed opposition groups warn that the police force is in cahoots with the Janjaweed militias.

The National Democratic Alliance (NDA) -- the umbrella opposition organisation grouping the southern-based Sudan People's Liberation Amy (SPLA), led by John Garang, and other mainly northern Sudanese opposition parties -- is set to meet in Cairo, Egypt, in August with representatives of the Sudanese government to work out a framework for political reform in Sudan. They are to discuss ways of resolving the Darfur crisis within the overall context of Sudanese political reform.

"Egyptian authorities assured us that they are happy to host the talks on Sudanese political reform," Farouk Abu Eissa, former head of the Cairo-based Arab Lawyers Union and official spokesman for the NDA told Al-Ahram Weekly. "The NDA stressed that the deplorable security situation in Darfur must be resolved politically and not through military means," he added.

The two main armed groups in Darfur, the Sudan Liberation Army (SLA) and the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) both concurred with the NDA. Indeed, the SLA has formally joined the NDA, headquartered in the Eritrean capital Asmara. The two groups are currently holding informal peace talks with representatives of the Sudanese government in Geneva, Switzerland.

Failure to break the stalemate would dash chances of a package deal between the two sides this summer.

Meanwhile, the Janjaweed have continued to sow fear, especially among the hapless refugees and displaced indigenous peoples of Darfur. International humanitarian organisations estimate that 30,000 non- Arab villagers have been murdered in cold blood by the Janjaweed. Women continue to be raped, and villages burned.

And bad blood is still being stirred. The Sudanese authorities announced that they captured 10 alleged Janjaweed militiamen and promptly amputated their limbs. "Those who had their left hand and right foot amputated were not Janjaweed militiamen, but rather criminals and common prisoners already in government custody," Abu Eissa told the Weekly.