Arshad Mohammed, Reuters
US Secretary of State Colin Powell said yesterday genocide has occurred in Darfur and blamed Sudan's government and Janjaweed militias, a finding likely to increase pressure on Khartoum to end the violence. "I concluded that genocide has been committed in Darfur and that the government of Sudan and the Janjaweed bear responsibility and that genocide may still be occurring," Powell told the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee. While US officials have said a declaration of genocide does not impose significant legal obligations on them, the use of the term is likely to influence the diplomatic debate as the UN Security Council weighs a US-proposed resolution that threatens oil sanctions if Sudan does not stop the abuses. |