Sudan offers Darfur 'action plan'
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KHARTOUM, Sudan -- The Sudanese government has devised a "plan of action" to allay world fears over the increasingly desperate humanitarian situation in the African nation's Darfur region.
The administration in Khartoum has now just three weeks to disarm militias responsible for a reign of terror over the past 18 months, or face unspecified United Nations sanctions.
Under the "Plan of Action for Darfur", the government will approach "militias over whom it has influence and instruct them to cease their activities forthwith and lay down their weapons," according to a report by The Associated Press.
CNN Chief International Correspondent Christiane Amanpour, reporting from Khartoum, said Sunday the government of Sudan was "reacting to the increasing calibrated international pressure against it, including pressure by the United States."
But that pressure needed to be continually applied to avert a massive humanitarian tragedy, she said.
"According to USAID, there could be 300,000 people dead in Darfur by the end of the year, and that's if aid gets to them rapidly.
"If aid does not get there quickly, USAID is warning that a million people could die in Darfur by the end of this year. So the need to get the Sudanese government to react and to end this is very, very urgent right now," Armanpour said.
Aid agencies estimate about 2 million people are in urgent need of food and medical aid.
The 18-month conflict in Sudan began when black African factions in Darfur rose up against the Sudanese government, claiming discrimination in the distribution of scarce resources in the large, arid region.
Since then, government-backed Arab militias, called Janjaweed, have gone on a rampage, destroying villages, killing and raping.
As many as 30,000 people have been killed, and 1 million people have been forced to flee their homes.
Arab support
Arab countries, meanwhile, on Sunday said the Sudanese government needed more time to end the crisis in Darfur.
The 22-member Arab League, which held an emergency meeting Sunday in Cairo, Egypt to discuss the Sudan situation, also rejected "threats of military intervention in the region or imposing any sanctions on Sudan," AP reports.
And Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo offered to host peace talks to resolve the conflict.
Obasanjo invited the Sudanese government and rebel negotiators to hold talks in Nigeria starting August 23, a spokesman for the African Union said.
Previous talks fell apart July 17 after rebels walked out, saying the Sudanese government had ignored existing peace agreements.
Sudan denies backing the Janjaweed and was hoping Arab nations at Sunday's gathering would back it against international pressure.
Sudanese Foreign Affairs Minister Mustafa Osman Ismail said last week that his government felt the U.N. resolution was "unfair" but said Khartoum was doing its best to cope with it.
The Arab League has also decided to provide financial, technical and logistical support to Sudan.
On Wednesday, the United Nations and Sudan signed a new agreement requiring the Khartoum government to create safe areas in Darfur within 30 days so civilians can search for food and water and work their land without fear of attack.
Amanpour reports that the humanitarian situation in Sudan has improved a little since visits by U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan and U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell in July, but that the militia violence has not abated.
"These militias who are meant to be disarmed, and the government is meant to be controlling them, are still causing a great deal of violence. And that's a big threat right now," Amanpour said.
"Plus ...humanitarian aid needs to get there in a much, much greater amount, and more aid workers need to be allowed to go in there.
"The government is doing better in terms of allowing people in. Visa restrictions are being somewhat eased. But it's still difficult to get travel permits and to get access to the Darfur region even once you're in Khartoum."
-- CNN Chief International Correspondent Christiane Amanpour contributed to this story
Copyright 2004 CNN. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Associated Press contributed to this report.
