JACK STRAW embarked last night on an ambitious diplomatic push to persuade Sudan to accept thousands of African and Arab troops into the troubled Darfur region, where fighting has triggered the world’s most serious humanitarian crisis.
Arriving in Khartoum, the Foreign Secretary went straight into talks with his Sudanese counterpart, Mustafa Osman Ismail. Last night after the meeting, he insisted that Sudan was serious about tackling the crisis in Darfur.
The minister said the government was committed to alleviating the plight of refugees, re-imposing order and finding a political solution to the conflict. He added that the Sudanese authorities last week arrested more than 200 Janjawid militiamen and that they were being tried, convicted and sentenced by courts in the disputed territory.
Mr Straw met Vice-President Ali Osman Taha before seeing President Bashir today.
With one week to go before a United Nations Security Council deadline for Sudan to restore order in Darfur and disarm its Janjawid militia, Mr Straw will press the Sudanese leadership to accept an African solution to the crisis.
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His plan envisages a tenfold increase in the number of foreign troops destined for Darfur. At present 100 African observers have been deployed to Darfur to be protected by 150 Rwandan troops, soon to be reinforced by a similar number of Nigerians. But that is a token force in an area the size of France with more than a million refugees.
After discussions with Nigeria’s President Olusegun Obasanjo and Rwanda’s President Paul Kagame, Mr Straw hopes the Sudanese will accept as many as 1,000 observers with 3,000 troops drawn from across the continent..
The Nigerians have volunteered to send two battalions or about 1,500 soldiers. The Rwandans may also increase their contribution.
Mr Straw will raise the possibility of South African troops when he meets his counterpart in Cape Town tomorrow. Other possible contributors include Tanzania and Angola.
To ease Khartoum’s concerns about having an exclusively black African force in a region where African farmers and Arab nomads are involved in an ethnic conflict, the British have also raised the possibility of sending Arab troops into Darfur. Discussions have taken place with Egypt and Morocco. Libya’s Colonel Muammar Gadaffi has also expressed an interest in helping.
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The biggest hurdle is Khartoum’s attitude. Some moderates are open to having outside help in solving the Darfur emergency, but some hardliners strongly oppose allowing foreign forces on their soil.