Sudan blames West for Darfur conflict

Sudanese Vice President Ali Osman Taha blamed Western governments for the conflict in Sudan's Darfur region that the United Nations has described as the world's worst humanitarian crisis.
He told a gathering of Egyptian and Sudanese intellectuals and politicians in Cairo that the conflict in western Darfur was "fabricated" by the international community, and in particular, by the West.
The same parties that were responsible for creating war in the southern Sudan nearly 50 years ago, are the ones responsible for the conflict in Darfur, according to the Sudanese vice president.
He did not provide any hard evidence to support his claims, but singled out the European Union for criticism, saying it was holding an estimated 400 million dollars in Sudanese government funds.
Taha claimed that the government wanted to use the funds for projects in Darfur, but the EU refused to release the funds unless Khartoum resolves the conflict in the south.
"They hold your money and tell you to heal myself," Taha snapped.
Britain, days after releasing extra aid to Sudan's crisis-stricken western Darfur region, issued a sharp reminder to Khartoum on Wednesday that it must rein in marauding Arab militias and ensure help reaches the needy.
"I made it very clear to the government of Sudan that they must bear the primary responsibility for bringing the fighting to an end, for reining in the Janjawid militia and for seeking a political solution for what is a crisis of security," International Development Secretary Hilary Benn said.
Benn was speaking to reporters in London upon his return from a trip earlier this week to Sudan, where he visited three refugee camps inside Darfur, met officials in Khartoum and announced a new 15 million pound (27 million dollar, 23 million euro) humanitarian aid grant.
An estimated 10,000 people have died since rebels complaining of government neglect of their impoverished region launched an uprising in Darfur in February 2003 and were met with fierce retaliation by government and Janjawid forces.
An estimated one million people have been displaced in Darfur and 130,000 others have fled across the border into Chad. UN agencies have described the Darfur crisis as the world's biggest current humanitarian problem.