by Haider Rizvi
07/24/2006

Click here to read the entire article.

Below is an excerpt of an article from OneWorld US:

NEW YORK, (OneWorld) - A leading U.S.-based humanitarian group is urging the George W. Bush administration to engage all rebel groups in the Darfur peace process as the U.S. president prepares to talk with the leader of just one particular faction.

…

Though Minawi has denied allegations of violence, says Refugees International, a Washington, DC-based group, a vast number of displaced Darfuris have reported that his forces are responsible for ongoing attacks against civilians.

The group says since the signing of the peace agreement there has been no let up in violence in northern Darfur, where the refugee population has increased--in one camp alone by 10 percent, or more than 3,500 people.

"Please stress that he (Minawi) must honor the terms of the Darfur Peace Agreement," said Kenneth Bacon, president of Refugees International, in a letter addressed to President Bush.

Bacon, who is currently visiting the region, urged the U.S. president to also reach out to other rebel leaders, including the Abdel Wahid faction of the Sudanese Liberation Army, and convince them to sign the peace agreement.

"Although Minawi is the dominant military leader among the rebels," Bacon said, "he represents a small tribe and is intensely disliked by the dominant tribe, the Fur."

Bacon fears that a strong association with one group could weaken U.S. influence with other groups, just as the African Union forces have been discredited by their embrace of Minawi.

"It is important that the U.S. find ways to reach out to other groups and leaders as it fetes Minawi in Washington," he said. "The U.S. should not support parties that are continuing to fight after signing the peace agreement."

…

In a statement released last week, Washington, DC-based Africa Action called on the U.S. government and the United Nations to do more--both diplomatically and logistically--to ensure the speedy deployment of UN forces in Darfur.

The UN should "immediately provide the African Union troops already on the ground with a...mandate to protect civilians, turning them into a 'blue-helmeted' UN force," the group said, adding that those forces should then be reinforced with UN peacekeepers to comprise at least 20,000 troops.

…

In a separate statement last week, eight of the largest international aid groups, including Christian Aid, the International Rescue Committee, and Islamic Relief, warned that the AU force was "chronically under-funded and unable to do its vital job."

…

In his letter, Bacon suggested that the administration should "push the AU and the UN to begin a broad Darfur-Darfur dialogue" to include all parties in the process of reconciliation and rebuilding, including women and youth leaders.

"Achieving peace in Darfur will not be easy under any circumstances," said Bacon. "The Peace Agreement is an imperfect start, but it is a start."

Meanwhile, UN officials from the region report that the ongoing violence is hindering their efforts to provide humanitarian assistance to those in dire need of food and medicines.

…

UN officials said they are worried that the security conditions inside some camps for internally displaced people "are so poor" that humanitarian operations there have been placed at risk.

…