WASHINGTON — The United Nations has targeted senior Sudanese
officials for sanctions in connection to the killing of hundreds of
thousands of people in the war-torn Darfour province.
Western diplomats said the Security Council has identified 17 Sudanese
officials for sanctions. They said the Sudanese officials were accused of
prolonging the civil war in Darfour and aiding the regime-aligned Janjaweed
militia.
The council list was said to have included Sudan's interior minister,
defense minister and intelligence chief. The list, submitted to the council
in December 2005, has never been released but was disclosed by Western media
last week, Middle East Newsline reported.
The diplomats said a panel of UN experts has also cited Sudanese
President Omar Bashir and Chad President Idriss Deby as future sanction
targets. The two men were accused of failing to respond to UN efforts to
restore peace to Darfour.
It was not clear whether the council would impose sanctions on the
Sudanese leaders. In March
2005, the council voted to freeze the assets and prevent travel of those
deemed to have exacerbated the war in Darfour. But, blocked by China and
Qatar, no action was taken.
The UN panel determined that Sudanese Interior Minister Zubair Bashir
Taha, Defense Minister Abdul Rahim Mohammed Hussein and intelligence chief
Maj. Gen. Salah Abdullah Gosh refused to honor Khartoum's pledge to disarm
Janjaweed, Others on the UN list for possible sanctions included four senior
Sudanese officers, two militia leaders and three commanders of the Sudan
Liberation Army, the main rebel group in Darfour.
"All parties, to varying degrees, have committed torture, outrages upon
personal dignity and cruel, inhumane or degrading treatment against those
who are not, or are no longer, participating in the conflict," the UN report
said.
