Sudan leader orders tribes to disarm militias in bid to end violence

SUDANESE President Omar el-Bashir has ordered tribal leaders in the Darfur region to form security forces to disarm Arab militias blamed for the violence that has killed 30,000 people during an 18-month conflict.

The decision, announced after two days of talks between government officials and Darfur tribal chiefs, comes amid intense international pressure to end the Darfur crisis, which has forced more than one million people from their homes.

The United Nations has described Darfur’s plight as the world’s worst humanitarian crisis. The European Union, United States and humanitarian groups have accused Mr el-Bashir’s government of backing the Arab militias, known as the Janjaweed, with vehicles, helicopters and airplanes - a charge denied by Sudanese officials.