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Sudan criticizes Powell's remarks on Darfur
The Sudanese government strongly criticised on Monday what the US Secretary of State Colin Powell labelled as "genocide" in western Sudan's region of Darfur. The Sudanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs described in a statement what Powell said at a Senate hearing session last Thursday as "incorrect and leads to the deterioration of the situation in Darfur". "Powell's statement was a fierce blow to the efforts currently exerted by the African Union to resolve the Darfur problem and would give negative hints to the negotiating parties in Abuja, particularly the rebel groups who have started to reveal extreme attitudes," said the statement. "What Powell said is tantamount to what was aroused about weapons of mass destruction in Iraq," the statement added. It pointed out Powell's allegation "came simultaneously with the climax of the American presidential elections in a bid to gain more votes and to divert the attention of the national and international communities away from what has been committed in Iraq and Afghanistan". "It also came at a time when the Sudanese government and the rebel groups are holding serious negotiations in Abuja for reaching a durable and just resolution in Darfur", the statement noted. Colin Powell classified last Thursday what happened in Sudan's troubled Darfur region as "genocide" and called on the United Nations to launch a thorough probe into what he called as "one of the world's worst humanitarian crises". He accused the Sudanese government of not taking required efforts in disarming the Janjaweed militias and of its failure in implementing its obligations as one of the countries that signed an agreement on combating genocide. |
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