Sudanese government blocks Western efforts to help Darfur

CAIRO, Egypt -- The warnings from the United Nations, Europe and the U.S. are dire: The war-ravaged Darfur region of Sudan is headed toward disaster, and Sudan's government must allow in peacekeepers to prevent it.\nBut with Sudan resisting, there may be little the West can do to avert a sharp deterioration in the world's worst humanitarian crisis.\nOvershadowed by crises like Lebanon, Afghanistan and Iran, and with threats of its own to wield, Sudan looks set to stymie the West's efforts to help Darfur's people for months, if not years, to come.\nOn a practical level, the impact could be sharp. If Africa Union peacekeepers pull out of the vast, war-ravaged region at month's end as they now intend and Sudan continues to fight the deployment of a replacement U.N. force, many international aid workers are likely to depart -- perhaps within weeks.\nThat could leave Darfur's suffering people facing even more starvation and attacks from government-backed militias. If Sudan launches a big military offensive against rebels in the region, the situation could worsen and the number of refugees sharply spike.\nIf, instead, the Africa Union decides to stay temporarily and plead for international aid to beef up its peacekeeping force -- now largely viewed as ineffective -- the result will be no better than the status quo, with no long-term international strategy in place to help.\nOf course, Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir still could agree to accept U.N. peacekeepers. But that seems unlikely with the president sounding more confrontational each day -- claiming that Jewish groups are behind the West's push for peacekeepers and that international aid groups exaggerate Darfur's suffering.\nHe also has accused the U.N. of wanting to reimpose colonialism.\nThe West has retorted sharply: U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan warned Sudan would be held accountable for the fate of those in Darfur, while President Bush appointed a special American envoy and said the U.N. should act even if Sudan resists.\nThousands of people around the world rallied last weekend to protest the violence and urge world leaders to intervene. The fighting -- which began in early 2003 -- started between ethnic African tribes and the Arab-led government. The government now has been accused of unleashing militiamen blamed for rapes and killings, although it denies any involvement in the violence.\nAt least 200,000 people have died and more than 2 million people have been displaced.\nDespite their strong words, the United States and the U.N. have not yet applied the pressure needed -- backed by strong consequences -- to make al-Bashir blink, said Lee Feinstein, an expert on the U.N. and international diplomacy at the Council on Foreign Relations in New York.\nWhat's needed is a "systematic, diplomatic campaign that would bring along other countries and have real leverage with Khartoum," Feinstein said.\nKey to that may be China, the biggest buyer of Sudan's oil and thus one of the few countries with the carrots and sticks to make it listen. China this week did say it had urged Sudan to consider peacekeepers but made clear it felt the decision was Sudan's.\nThe United States and its allies are mulling whether there are other ways to force al-Bashir to be more cooperative on Darfur, such as intervening militarily without his permission.\nBut Sudan has been clever in its opposition -- accusing the West of imperialistic aims rather than humanitarian ones -- and European troops are sure to be leery of leaping into yet another hostile morass when they already are heavily committed in Lebanon.\nAfrican troops under U.N. mandate could be another option, but so far al-Bashir has resisted even that. And a warning from Osama bin Laden's al-Qaida terrorist group that it will fight any Western-allied force in Sudan is sure to give both Western and African governments pause, with Islamic militants strong in nearby Somalia.\nWhy has Sudan's government been so determined to keep out a U.N. force?\nSome experts believe al-Bashir simply wants to be able to attack rebels in Darfur without interference.\nOthers think al-Bashir worries that a U.N. force might inevitably be followed by a U.N. investigation into alleged war crimes by his government. The specter of another former African leader, Liberia's Charles Taylor -- in jail on war crimes charges -- is said to haunt him.\nSally Buzbee is the AP's Chief of Middle East News based in Cairo, Egypt.