November 3, 2004 - 8:00 AM

Sudan accused of breaking UN pledge

By Evelyn Leopold

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - Sudan is violating both international law and its agreements with the United Nations by forcing homeless
people out of camps they had fled to in Darfur, U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan says.

The U.N. leader was also very concerned by the deteriorating security situation in Darfur, where tensions have increased following the
kidnapping of 18 hostages by the Sudan Liberation Army rebel group and the mobilization of thousands of Arab militias in West and South
Darfur, a spokesman said.

Annan called on all sides to stop fighting, urged the rebels to release their hostages and appealed to the militias to stand down, the
spokesman said.

The incident in the camps involved several thousand refugees among some 20,000 homeless people near Nyala in South Darfur. Under
agreements with the United Nations, Sudan cannot force them to return to their villages or other locations until they agree to go.

"I strongly urge the government to halt immediately all such relocation operations and to facilitate the return of the affected persons from the
inappropriate sites to which they have been taken," Annan said in a statement.

Jan Pronk, appointed by Annan to try to negotiate an end to the Darfur crisis with the government, had earlier harshly criticized Sudan for
driving the homeless from the camps.

The involuntary movement appeared to have stopped after the homeless threw stones at Sudanese forces in protest, Pronk said, expressing
concern that the confrontation "might explode" and cause an "irreversible loss of life."

"The government ought to be wiser than it is at the moment," he said.

Pronk also sharply criticized the rebels, saying they were looting aid convoys, closing roads and laying land mines.

RENEWED PUSH FOR SANCTIONS?

The United Nations has negotiated for months with Khartoum on allowing aid and African Union monitors into Darfur. If Sudan continues to
violate the agreements, some Security Council members are expected to renew a push for sanctions.

In Khartoum, Foreign Minister Mustafa Osman Ismail said he was unaware of the incident but would investigate.

Pronk said it was possible it took place without orders from Khartoum but that government security forces definitely were responsible.

More than 1.5 million people have been driven from their homes by violence in Darfur in what the United Nations calls the world's worst
ongoing humanitarian crisis.

The conflict erupted in early 2003 with a revolt by two rebel groups following years of skirmishes between African farmers and Arab nomads
over land and scarce resources.

Militia then attacked villagers, raping, pillaging and killing, with support from the Sudanese military, according to all international observers.
Khartoum denies this.

U.N. officials in Sudan said Sudanese security forces moved in before dawn and removed some people from two camps near Nyala, while in
a third camp Sudanese forces fired shots in the air and used tear gas to disperse crowds.