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Sudan says US armed Darfur rebels

CAIRO: The United States helped train and arm rebels from west Sudan who rose up against the Sudanese government last year, Sudanese President President Omar Hassan Al Bashir said in remarks published on Thursday. “Who else than the United States is behind this ... They took rebels to Eritrea, and set up training camps for them, spent money on them, armed them and gave them Thuraya mobiles (telephones) to speak between anywhere in the world,” Bashir told Egypt’s Al Ahram daily when asked about the involvement of foreign powers in Darfur. The US embassy in Khartoum declined to comment on the report.

Sudanese officials have previously said the United States has exploited the Darfur crisis to further its own political agenda in the region and to exploit the country’s oil and other resources. Sudan produces up to 320,000 barrels a day of crude.

“Eritrea ... was the land used, but the training, spending and planning was paid for by foreign powers, at the head of them the United States, represented in its agencies,” Bashir told the semi-official Egyptian daily in the interview in Khartoum. He said encouragement came from US pressure groups, such as right-wing Christians. Bashir said he had evidence and documents to support his charges, but he did not give details. “There are many ways to resolve it, and the ways are known internationally, but those who lit the fire don’t want to put it out,” he said. The UN Security Council has threatened Sudan with possible sanctions if it fails to stop the violence in Darfur. A ceasefire between the government and rebels agreed in Chad in April has proved shaky. reuters

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