Government urges Ethiopia to help end Darfur crisis

THE Government is gravely concerned at the humanitarian situation in Darfur, Foreign Affairs Minister Dermot Ahern said yesterday.

As Sudan continues to block UN peacekeeping troops from entering its country, a global day of action took place to press for an end to the conflict.Up to two million people have been displaced and a further three million are dependent on humanitarian assistance. In a strongly-worded letter, Mr Ahern urged the Ethiopian Government to press its ally Sudan to allow the deployment of UN troops.

“Ireland is gravely concerned by the continuing political and humanitariancrisis in Darfur,” Mr Ahern wrote in the letter to Prime Minister Meles Zenawi. “As a key regional player in Eastern Africa and the African Union, I am sure that these concerns are shared equally by Ethiopia. “In view of the good relations between your government and the Republic of Sudan, I would respectfully urge that you should encourage President (Hassan Omar al) Bashir to consider changing his position and accepting the deployment of a UN operation in Darfur.”

The Sudanese government has rejected a force of 20,000 UN peacekeepers to replace the 7,000 African Union soldiers due to leave at the end of the month.Mr Ahern held talks with Mr Zenawi and other government leaders during a three-day visit to Ethiopia and Sudan in July. He also met aid agencies like Trocaire, Concern and Oxfam who expressed concerns about the safety of workers delivering aid to vulnerable people. In his letter, Mr Ahern also warned the Ethiopian Government that the continuing conflict in Darfur could provoke tensions between North African and Sub-Saharan states. “This could have serious consequences for the promotion of African unity and integration,” he wrote.

Ireland has provided€ 3m for humanitarian, human rights and civilian policing aspects of the African Union Mission in Sudan (AMIS).