KHARTOUM, 12 October (IRIN) - An international think-tank has recommended targeted sanctions against key figures in the Sudanese government and designating the western region of Darfur as a no-fly zone to pressure Khartoum into allowing a United Nations peacekeeping force into the troubled area.

A UN Security Council resolution passed on 31 August called for a 20,000-strong UN peacekeeping force in Darfur, which would be expanded from the existing African Union Mission in Sudan (AMIS). The proposed force would replace the poorly funded and understaffed 7,200 AU peacekeepers in the region. The Sudanese government has, however, rejected the idea of deploying UN troops in Darfur.

In its latest report on Darfur, the International Crisis Group (ICG) says that the UN, United States and European Union, working in concert or unilaterally, should slap key members of Sudan's ruling National Congress Party (NCP), who have been named in UN-sponsored investigations for involvement in atrocities in Darfur, with asset freezes and travel bans.

The UN Security Council should also authorise a forensic accounting firm or a panel of experts to investigate the offshore accounts of the NCP and NCP-affiliated businesses to pave the way for economic sanctions against the regime's commercial entities, which, according to the ICG, were the main conduit for financing NCP-allied militias in Darfur.

The sanctions should also target Sudan's petroleum sector, which was the NCP's main source of revenue for waging war in Darfur, according to the ICG. Plans should be made for enforcing a no-fly zone over Darfur by France and the US with NATO support, it added.

According to the ICG, divisions within the international community over whether to insist on sending UN troops to Darfur or to strengthen the AU peacekeeping force were encouraging the government in Khartoum to continue to refuse to allow the deployment of UN force, which Sudan views as an encroachment on its sovereignty.

"The situation in Darfur demands the most effective response possible. That can only come through the full UN deployment, and efforts need to be concentrated to bring it about as rapidly as possible," the ICG report, released on 11 October, said.

The Sudanese government could not be immediately reached for comment.

Last week, Amnesty International (AI) called upon the Sudanese government to allow UN peacekeepers into Darfur, saying the region was teetering on the brink of chaos, with regular and irregular forces under Sudanese government control engaging in deliberate attacks against civilians.

It urged members of the UN Security Council and the African Union to develop a common united position to secure the consent of Sudan to the deployment of UN peacekeepers, and to bolster the AU peacekeeping force in the interim.

"What Darfuris want above all else is security: a halt to the fighting, the disarmament of the Janjawid [pro-government militia], and, if these conditions are met, to return in safety to their homes. The international community has promised the people of Darfur much but now is the time for action. Effective peacekeeping must be brought to Darfur," AI said in its 5 October report.

At least two million people have been driven from their homes in three years of fighting in Darfur between the Sudanese government, allied militias and rebel forces. The conflict began when rebels in Darfur attacked government positions, saying the remote region remained undeveloped due to Khartoum's neglect.

Sudan is charged with arming Janjawid militias to crush the rebellion using a campaign of rape and murder. Sudan denies these charges.

In a related development, a UN-appointed panel has said that all parties to the conflict in Darfur had violated an arms embargo in the region.

According to the report, released on Wednesday, Chadian rebels were exacerbating the conflict by reportedly joining government forces and the Janjawid in their operations against rebel groups.

There were reliable reports that Sudan was re-supplying the Chadian rebels with weapons and ammunition offloaded at local airports and moved to locations within Darfur, the report said.

"The Janjawid armed militias appear to have upgraded their modus operandi from horses, camels and AK-47s [rifles] to Land Cruisers, pick-up trucks and rocket-propelled grenades," it stated.

[Full ICG report on: http://www.crisisgroup.org/home/index.cfm?id=4442 and l=1 ]

jn/mw

IRIN news