Straw arrives in Khartoum
Sudan-UK, Politics, 8/24/2004

The launching of Abuja talks coincides with the visit of the British foreign minister Jack Straw to Khartoum and then to Darfur district in order to get acquainted with the situation there.

Straw said at Heathrow airport before his travel to Sudan that he will convey to the Sudanese government the extent of the international concern over the humanitarian crisis in Darfur and the crimes committed there and the need for achieving complete progress in implementing obligations, according to the UN Security Council resolution concerning the case.

Straw's visit to Sudan comes following similar visits by prominent western officials like the US secretary of state Colin Powell and his French peer.

On the situation in Darfur, The UN envoy in Sudan, Jan Brunik, said that security conditions in Darfur improved despite the continued acts of killing, noting that there is no evidence of acts of killing on a large scale, but he stressed the need for exerting more efforts to protect vulnerable persons in the area.

Brunik told the BBC that the Sudanese government is not responsible for the acts of killing which are still continuous in Darfur and that it is making efforts to improve the security situation there.

On Sunday, the Sudanese government for the first time admitted the occurrence of human rights violations in Darfur. The Sudanese minister of Justice handed over to the representative of the International Committee For Human Rights a list in the names of 30 members of the Jangaweid militias accused of committing crimes, including rape operations in Darfur as well as destroying villages.

Previous Stories:
  Britain is ready to cancel Sudan's debts after peace   (1/29/2004)
  Sudan warns British envoy over supporting rebels moves   (12/25/2002)
  Britain supports negotiations between Sudan, the rebels   (10/4/2002)

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