The United States on Wednesday said it is deeply concerned that, 10 years after the outbreak of the conflict in Sudan’s Darfur region, the Darfurians have continue to suffer from increased insecurity, human rights abuses and sexual violence, the US State Department said in a statement, received here by PANA.
According to the statement: 'The brutal conflict between the Sudanese government forces, rebels and militias, and the continued aerial bombardments and indiscriminate attacks on civilian areas by the Sudanese Armed Forces, in violation of UN Security Council Resolutions, have led to the deaths of nearly 300,000 people, the vast majority unarmed civilians.'
It also said: 'Over two million Darfurians remain internally displaced and as refugees in neighboring countries. Reversing the cycle of violence and impunity requires accountability for the perpetrators.'
It noted that the US strongly supports international efforts to bring peace, security and humanitarian relief to the people of Darfur.
It said: 'We unequivocally support UNAMID, the joint United Nations-African Union peacekeeping force in Darfur, and demand immediate, unimpeded access for peacekeepers and humanitarians throughout Darfur.'
'Over the past decade, the United States has provided over US$ 7.5 billion in funding for humanitarian, transition and peacekeeping assistance for vulnerable populations in Darfur and eastern Chad,’’ the statement said.
The US also stressed the need for 'an effective and inclusive political process to urgently avoid another decade of war and to address the crisis of governance that fuels Sudan's civil wars’’.
It further called on the Sudanese government and all rebel groups to engage without preconditions in such a process, using the Doha Document for Peace in Darfur (DDPD) as a basis to achieve a peaceful resolution to the conflict.
'The United States remains a committed partner to the people of Darfur, and to all those working for the more peaceful, stable, and prosperous future they deserve,’’ it added.
Pana 27/02/2013