U.N. Wants To Beef Up Sudan Force

A U.N. report on Wednesday called for a quick increase in the international monitoring force in Sudan, saying the government has not stopped attacks against civilians or disarmed marauding militias in the western region of Darfur.

The report to the U.N. Security Council does not mention or recommend sanctions.

On July 30, the council gave the government 30 days to demonstrate that it was taking action to curb Arab militias accused of attacking, raping and killing villagers in Darfur, and improve security and humanitarian access. It threatened punitive economic and diplomatic measures if Khartoum didn't move quickly.

After 18 months of conflict in the western desert region, and 30 days after the adoption of the council's resolution, the report said, "the government of Sudan has not been able to resolve the crisis in Darfur, and has not met some of the core commitments it has made."

It cites "some progress" by the government in improving security in several areas where Sudanese have taken refuge, the deployment of additional police and the beginning of disarmament and the lifting of restrictions to humanitarian relief. It also said the government has made a commitment not to force those who have fled to return, and has established human rights monitors and investigations of the conflict.

But despite its commitment, the report said, the government has not "fully" met its obligation to stop attacks against civilians and ensure their protection.

"Attacks against civilians are continuing and the vast majority of armed militias has not been disarmed," it said.

Secretary-General Kofi Annan sent the report to the council ahead of Thursday's briefing to its 15 members by his top envoy to Sudan, Jan Pronk, whose observations form the basis of its conclusions and recommendations.

Meanwhile, international aid agencies were stepping up efforts in rebel-controlled areas of Darfur, with UNICEF saying on Wednesday it had vaccinated up to 50,000 children against polio during a mission that saw workers traveling by camel and donkey to reach people sheltering in the bush.

A U.N. official also said six Sudanese aid workers held since Saturday by the rebel Sudan Liberation Army were released early Wednesday.

But rebel secretary-general Minni Minnawi denied that his group had detained the workers, saying instead that civilians held them until rebel intervention freed them.

It was the second time rebels had been accused of detaining aid workers in North Darfur, one of the three states in a region the United Nations has said is the scene of the world's worst humanitarian crisis.

The Darfur crisis ensued after two African rebel factions took up arms in February 2003 claiming discrimination by the Arab-dominated government in the capital Khartoum.

The U.N. World Food Program also appealed for $12 million to provide extra food for Darfur refugees in neighboring Chad for six months, particularly 55,000 children aged under five and pregnant and nursing women.

"We must catch the most vulnerable groups before their conditions deteriorate, setting off a graver crisis than already exists," said WFP's Chad deputy country director, Jean-Charles Dei, in a press release.

Human rights groups, the U.S. Congress and U.N. officials accuse Sudan's government of trying to crush the rebellion by backing Arab militiamen in a scorched earth campaign. Khartoum has repeatedly denied backing the Janjaweed militia blamed for killing thousands, raping women and driving more than 1 million villagers from their homes.

Sasha Westerbig, an Al-Fasher-based UNICEF spokeswoman, returned late Tuesday from the polio-vaccination campaign in a barren region nine hours' drive north of Al-Fasher, North Darfur's capital.

She said the joint UNICEF-World Health Organization team had received excellent cooperation from Sudan Liberation Army field commanders and planned to vaccinate 150,00 children against measles between Sept. 4-7.

Westerbig said many in the region were sheltering in the bush, living on berries and goat meat, too afraid to stay in their mud-and-straw hut settlements in case they were attacked by government helicopters or planes.

Few wells and little basic infrastructure existed in the area, she said, adding the team has encountered people suffering from malaria and waterborne diseases.

"We took the SLA (rebels) with us to go from village to village," Westerbig told The Associated Press. "They were going out on donkeys and camels to vaccinate the people. It was heartwarming to see how dedicated they were."

Sudanese authorities have accused the rebels of hampering aid efforts by violating an April 8 cease-fire and abducting aid workers. Both sides have been accused of truce violations.

Barry Came, of the WFP, said the six aid workers — three from WFP and three from the Sudanese Red Crescent — were safe and well after negotiations with their Sudan Liberation Army captors secured their release. He said a helicopter picked them up Wednesday in Tabit, south of Al-Fasher.

Officials had originally said eight workers were missing, but Came said two workers scheduled to have gone with the team missed the trip because of illness.

The rebels have denied holding the missing workers.

In June, rebels detained 16 relief workers from international aid organizations for several days in North Darfur to ascertain their identities because they were in a military zone.

Besides objecting to rebel detention of workers, aid agencies have complained about the government preventing them from getting workers and aid to Darfur. In recent weeks, though, U.N. and other aide officials have said the government was more cooperative and had removed obstacles.