Kiir supports UN peacekeepers in Darfur

Khartoum: One of Sudan's two vice-presidents said in remarks published yesterday that he would accept the deployment of UN peacekeepers in Sudan's war-torn Darfur region.

First Vice-President Salva Kiir Mayardit, head of the Sudan People's Liberation Movement a former southern rebel group that now shares power in Khartoum was quoted by the independent Al Sudani daily as saying the Sudanese government was incapable of protecting civilians in Darfur, and called on the United Nations to intervene.

"The aggravation of the humanitarian and security situation in Darfur necessitates intervention of international forces to protect civilians from the atrocities of the Janjaweed militias so long as the government is not capable of protecting them," Kiir was quoted as saying at the close of an SPLM politburo meeting held in the southern city of Juba late on Friday.

But Sudan's foreign minister, Al Samani Al Wasila, told Sawt Al Arab (Voice of the Arabs) Radio yesterday that the best thing the international community could do for Sudan was to support the Darfur Peace Agreement instead of planning to deploy international forces.

Meanwhile, according to a new study that says the death toll is often under reported, between 170,000 and 255,000 people have died in Sudan's war-torn Darfur region since 2003.

But the actual number of people who have died could be as high as 400,000, said one of the study's authors John Hagan, a sociology and law professor at Northwestern University in Illinois.

There is much uncertainty in estimating the death toll in Darfur because of difficulties getting accurate body counts in the conflict-ridden region, according to the study, which was published on Friday in the journal Science.

The study was co-authored by Alberto Palloni, who directs the Centre for Demography and Ecology at the University of Wisconsin.

INITIATIVE
Blair to propose incentive package

British Prime Minister Tony Blair said yesterday he would propose an incentive package for Sudan as part of a new initiative to end the crisis in war-torn Darfur and get UN peacekeeping troops on the ground.

"In the coming weeks I will talk to other leaders to agree an initiative that sets out the help Sudan can expect if the government lives up to its obligations and what will happen if they don't," Blair said in a statement. "The situation is unacceptable. I do not understand the government of Sudan's rejection of the UN force, or its threat to withdraw its welcome from the AU," Blair said. "The government of Sudan must agree to the continuation of the [African Union] force and transition to the UN."

- Reuters