U.K.'s Blair would support Darfur no-fly zone
Source: Reuters
(Adds U.S. comments, background) By Sophie Walker LONDON, Dec 13 (Reuters) - Britain's Tony Blair would support a no-fly zone in Sudan's Darfur region as part of a U.N.-sanctioned "Plan B" to halt the violence, an aide said on Wednesday, as the U.S. also mulled options to ease the crisis. Blair's spokesman quoted the prime minister as saying during a visit to Washington last week that the option of a no-fly zone in Darfur should be considered as part of possible sanctions against Sudan's government if it did not agree to a U.N. peace plan. "If, in the next weeks and next couple of months or so the Sudanese government are not prepared to agree to the U.N. plan, then we've got to move to sanctions and we've got to move to tougher action," he quoted Blair as saying. "I think we should certainly consider the option of a no-fly zone to help people in Darfur, because it's a very, very serious situation and it's now spilling into other countries next door." The United States is also growing increasingly frustrated with Sudan's refusal to accept an international force in Darfur and U.S. State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said while diplomacy was the focus, other options were being explored. "The (U.S.) president's going to consider what options he thinks are necessary in order to address the grave situation there," McCormack told reporters. Another State Department official said while a no-fly zone was an option, the focus would likely be on economic sanctions, travel bans on Sudanese officials and other measures. "There are a lot of ideas floating around out there," said the official, who asked not to be named. A British government source also said a no-fly zone was one of several potential sanctions being considered. Others included asset freezes and travel bans. But any sanctions would have to be approved by the U.N. Security Council. China may be reluctant to support such action, given its business interests in Sudan, which sells it large amounts of oil. Beijing has resisted calls to authorize U.N. peacekeepers in Darfur without Bashir's approval. SUDANESE RESISTANCE The Security Council in August approved deployment of as many as 22,000 peacekeepers to Darfur, where more than 200,000 people have been killed and more than 2.5 million driven from their homes in a conflict that has raged since 2003. But Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir has ignored intense international pressure to let in U.N. troops, saying it would be akin to a Western recolonization of his country. The U.S. and others offered Sudan a compromise "hybrid" U.N./African Union force, which Khartoum continued to resist. Washington's special envoy to Sudan, Andrew Natsios, has set a Jan. 1 deadline for Khartoum to make progress on Darfur or have the United States and others resort to what he called "Plan B." Natsios is scheduled to visit Britain next week following his latest round of diplomatic efforts in Khartoum and is expected to hold talks with International Development Secretary Hilary Benn. While Washington is weighing its options, the prospect of military intervention in Darfur seems unlikely, particularly with the United States bogged down in Iraq. Pentagon press secretary Eric Ruff said he was not aware of planning for any military operations involving Darfur. But as a policy, he added, the Pentagon would not discuss planning. "Our military is constantly planning and reviewing options and things, we just don't discuss it," he said. (Additional reporting by Sue Pleming and Andrew Gray in Washington)
| AlertNet news is provided by |  |
