The administration statement on Dec. 16 came after months of reports of
Sudanese Army operations in both Darfour and the south. Reports by Western
diplomats and the United Nations asserted that troops loyal to Bashir were
attacking civilians and suspected rebels in several areas of Darfour.
"We have heard deeply disturbing reports of Sudanese armed forces
blocking the movement of civilians, then looting and burning the village,"
U.S. envoy to the UN, Sudan Rice, told the Security Council. "These reports
deserve the council's serious attention and effective responses by UNAMID."
The Obama administration, largely silent in 2010 amid a campaign to
improve relations with Sudan, also asserted that both Khartoum and the
southern government were supporting proxies. The United States has offered
Khartoum a range of incentives for the successful completion of the
referendum on the south, scheduled for Jan. 9. Already one of the two
referendums, that on the future of the oil-rich Abyei region, has been
canceled.
"This [Khor Abeche] attack comes at a time that we are also seeing
increased evidence of support to militant proxies from the governments of
Sudan and southern Sudan," Hammer said. "As the January 9, 2011 referendum
on the status of southern Sudan approaches and Sudanese leaders engage in
discussions about their future relationship with the international
community, the governments of Sudan and southern Sudan must accept this
fundamental responsibility."
The United States has been under pressure by the International Criminal
Court to release evidence of massive embezzlement by Bashir, sought on
charges of genocide and war crimes in Darfour. A State Department cable
released by WikiLeaks on Dec. 18 said Bashir transferred $9 billion of
Sudanese oil funds to British banks.
"This [evidence] would change Sudanese public opinion from him being a
'crusader' to that of a thief," the cable quoted ICC chief prosecutor Luis
Moreno-Ocampo as saying.
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