U.S. Notes U.N. Option in Sudan

Secretary of State Colin L. Powell declined to say Saturday whether Sudan was still committing genocide in the country’s western region of Darfur through a campaign of killings, rapes and other abuses by pro-government Arab militias that have left about 2 million black Africans homeless.

Powell came to Kenya to witness the signing of a peace deal today to end a separate conflict in Sudan, the north-south civil war. The agreement will be signed four months to the day after Powell declared that Sudan’s government had committed genocide in Darfur and that “genocide may still be occurring.”

He said Saturday that sanctions were an option for the United Nations in its efforts to end Darfur’s “terrible conflict,” but he declined to say whether genocide was still taking place there.

Powell was flanked by southern rebel leader John Garang and his main negotiating partner, Sudanese Vice President Ali Osman Mohammed Taha.

Powell said that in a meeting with Taha, he stressed “the importance that we attach to the government of Sudan doing everything possible to rein in the ... militias, and we also need to make sure that the [Darfur] rebels don’t contribute to the problem.”

“The U.N. still has options before it, to include sanctions, and we do not take any of those options off the table.”

U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan said Friday that fighting in Darfur was escalating and that the region could face new violence despite efforts by the Security Council and others.

Asked whether genocide was still occurring, Powell avoided answering and said, “It was my judgment that genocide was taking place, and I haven’t seen the secretary-general’s latest report, but I look forward to examining it.”