David Alton demands urgent response on Darfur

Lord Alton of Liverpool, yesterday tabled a parliamentary question asking the Government what representations it is making to the Sudanese authorities following alarming reports that Sudan's army has raided two refugee camps near Nyala in Darfur, Western Sudan. The United Nations has said that the attacks are denying vital access to humanitarian agencies in the region. The independent crossbench peer, has intensified his efforts for a calibrated response to the genocide in Darfur since a visit to the region with the human rights group, Jubilee Campaign last month. In a statement, Lord Alton said: "I have met some of the 1.4 million Africans who have already been displaced and met the relatives of some of the 70,000 who have been killed in Darfur. While the British Government has been arguing for a diplomatic solution to this crisis, the Sudanese Government is attacking refugee camps and continuing its support for the brutal Janjaweed militia. I am asking again, what else needs to happen before the Government takes the necessary steps to stop the bloodshed?" At an Africa All Party Parliamentary Group meeting today, Lord Alton will outline a three-pronged strategy to end the brutal and systematic killing and displacement of black African Muslims by the Arab militia. Lord Alton will call for an immediate imposition of a no-fly zone in the region to prevent any further bombing of civilian populations, targeted oil sanctions on the Sudanese Government and an increased African Union force with a mandate to protect and prevent further loss of life. Jubilee Campaign's full report on the visit to Darfur 'The Genocide continues' is posted on their website www.jubileecampaign.co.uk