More Threats From US Against Sudan

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Bashir Must Be Accountable for Every Darfur Death, Rice Says

21st March 2009, 10:00 WST

Sudanese President Umar al-Bashir must be held accountable for each and
every death caused by his expulsion of 16 humanitarian aid groups from
the nations Darfur region, the US ambassador to the United Nations said.

Surely no person of conscience can remain unmoved by the untold misery
and death that this cutoff of desperately needed food, water and
medicine will inevitably inflict upon millions of innocents already
huddled in the camps of Darfur, Ambassador Susan Rice told the UN
Security Council today.

We urge other members of this council to join us in this urgent work,
Rice said.

There are things upon which we can and will disagree. But surely saving
the lives of desperate and innocent civilians being deliberately
deprived of water, food, and medicine is not among them.

The UN has said the expulsions will leave more than 1.5 million people
without food aid, drinking water or health care. Neither Rice nor any
other council member proposed any specific action by the panel.

China, a major investor in Sudans oil industry, has blocked a statement
by saying any position must include a call for suspension of the
International Criminal Courts indictment of Bashir for war crimes in
Darfur.

Fighting in Darfur has intensified since 2003, when rebels took up arms
against the government, complaining of marginalization and seeking a
greater share of the countrys wealth and political power.

The UN estimates as many as 300,000 people have died there, mostly of
disease and malnutrition, and that another 3 million have fled their
homes.

The government says the figures are exaggerated and puts the death toll
at around 10,000.

Sudan expelled the aid groups after the ICC charged Bashir with war
crimes and crimes against humanity for allegedly masterminding
atrocities during the Darfur conflict.

The government accuses the groups of spying for the court, a charge they
deny.

ICC Prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo told reporters that the expulsion of
the aid groups confirmed Bashirs guilt and that the groups provided him
with zero information.

"The king is naked," he said.