Sudan Disarms Janjaweed Militia

More than 750 militiamen handed over their arms in a ceremony attended by representatives of the UN, AU and the American and British embassies.

More than 750 militiamen handed over their arms near Nyala, the capital of Southern Darfur province, reported the Doha-based Al-Jazeera news channel.

The ceremony was attended by representatives of the UN, African Union as well as the American and British embassies.

The government vowed to help improve the living conditions of those who have handed over their arms, said Al-Jazeera correspondent.

Janjaweed militias are accused of plunder, murder and rape against non-Arab villagers.

This is the first disarming bid since the signing of a peace agreement, brokered by the Africa Union, in the Nigerian capital on May 5.

Splinter wings of the Sudan Liberation Movement (SLM) and Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) signed the deal Thursday, June 8, weeks after it had been agreed by the major warring parties.

The accord aims to end a three-year conflict that has claimed up to 300,000 lives and displaced some 2.4 million others, according to UN estimates.

Peacekeepers

In a related development, UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan said he would try again to persuade Sudanese President Omar el-Bashir to accept a UN peacekeeping force in Darfur when they meet at an African Union summit in Gambia next week.

Annan said he had spoken to Bashir by telephone and received the same negative response given to Jean-Marie Guehenno, the head of UN peacekeeping, on the need for a force in Darfur.

"I got the same message, but we have agreed to continue the dialogue, and also to meet in Banjul," he said, referring to the capital of Gambia where the AU is holding a July 1-2 summit.

"I hope we will be able to pursue the discussion, not only with me, but with other African leaders," said the UN chief.

"I have tried to get across the message that we are coming in to help the Sudanese authorities and the people of Sudan, the people in Darfur, and quite honestly, if they had been protected, the question of UN deployment would not be necessary."

Bashir said on Tuesday that UN troops were out of the question, citing a "colonial" agenda behind such demands.

Some 7,000 African Union soldiers, short of money and troops, are trying to protect the homeless in Darfur and to monitor a ceasefire between the government and the rebels.

The African Union has agreed to a UN force, which would include African soldiers as well as Asian troops, presumably from India, Pakistan or Bangladesh.

NATO nations have been asked to provide air support, communications and other logistics but not troops on the ground.

But no force can enter without the consent of the Khartoum government.

The AU's chief executive, Alpha Oumar Konare, said Thursday after meeting Bashir that Sudan "is not rejecting the role of the U.N., but they want to clarify what will be the nature of this force."