US calls on Sudan to probe Darfur camp clashes

Washington’s call comes just two days after it lifted a travel ban against Sudanese travelling to the United States and ahead of a decision by President Donald Trump on whether to permanently lift a decades-old US trade embargo on Sudan.

Friday’s clashes, which the United Nations earlier said had killed three people and wounded 26, erupted when residents of Camp Kalma protested against a visit by President Omar al-Bashir to the war-torn region.

In a statement on Facebook, the American embassy in Khartoum said it was deeply concerned by the “excessive use of force” by government forces in the clashes at Kalma in South Darfur.

“The United States calls on the government of Sudan to immediately launch a thorough and transparent investigation of the incident in which Sudanese security forces reportedly fired upon IDPs (internally displaced persons) resulting in five deaths.”

“The United States reminds the government of Sudan that its security forces must respond with restraint when dealing with protests, even if provoked.”

Last week Bashir, who is wanted by the International Criminal Court on genocide and war crimes charges related to the Darfur conflict, toured the region urging locals to give up their weapons.

The clashes at Camp Kalma, which houses more than 125,000 people displaced by the conflict, came as he visited nearby villages.

The Darfur conflict began when ethnic African minority rebels took up arms against Bashir’s Arab-dominated government, accusing it of economic and political marginalisation.

The UN says the conflict has killed about 300,000 people and displaced more than 2.5 million, most of whom now live in large camps.

On October 12, Trump is due to decide whether to permanently lift American sanctions against Sudan.

Although Washington imposed the sanctions in 1997 over Khartoum’s alleged support for Islamist militant groups, it argues that the conflict in Darfur has been a factor in keeping them in place.

Khartoum insists that the conflict in Darfur, a region of the size of France, has ended.

On Sunday, Trump removed Sudan from the list of countries facing a US travel ban.