US Senate majority leader Bill Frist voiced disagreement with European Union envoys, insisting that "genocide" was taking place in the Darfur area of western Sudan and that the government in Khartoum could stop it immediately if it wanted.
"I disagree with the statement made by the European Union yesterday in saying this is not genocide. The international community must not turn its back on this crisis," Frist on Tuesday told a news conference in Kenya.
Unlike a EU military and civilian team which paid a five-day visit to Darfur recently, Frist did not enter Sudanese territory but met with some refugees who have fled to refugee camps in neighbouring Chad.
"When I had the opportunity to talk to refugees as well as official representatives leads me to conclude that what is going on in Darfur is genocide," he said, according to AFP.
In Brussels on Monday, the head of the returning EU delegation, Pieter Feith, said "it is clear there is widespread, silent and slow killing going on and village burning of a fairly large scale" in Darfur, but said: "We are not in the situation of genocide there."
Feith added that there were "considerable doubts as to the willingness of the government of Sudan to protect the civilian population". (Albawaba.com)
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