KHARTOUM, 10 October 2004 — Sudan’s government pledged yesterday to cooperate with a UN panel set up to determine whether genocide has taken place in the troubled region of Darfur where thousands of people have been killed during a 19-month-old revolt. Justice Minister Ali Osman Yassin was quoted by Al-Ayam newspaper as saying he was chairing a legal committee established to work with the commission and “help it reach the truth” about the human rights situation in Darfur.
Sudan has said several times it was cooperating with the international community but has consistently been accused of obstructing aid agencies and efforts to resolve the crisis in Darfur. The five-member UN panel has been created by Secretary-General Kofi Annan to look into allegations of genocide and investigate reports of violations of international humanitarian law and human rights law in Darfur. At least 50,000 people have been killed in the region and 1.4 million people have fled their homes since two rebel movements rose up against the government.
