Pope urges Sudan to end military campaign in Darfur

Published: 2007-06-01

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Pope Benedict XVI urged Sudan to end its military campaign against the war-ravaged region of Darfur and implement a political solution that respects the country's minorities. "It is never too late to courageously make the necessary and sometimes restrictive choices aimed at putting an end to a crisis," he said in an address to Sudan's new ambassador to the Vatican. Pope Benedict said "the force of weapons" could not put an end to "this deadly conflict." The only "viable solution" that would bring peace is one based on justice, dialogue and negotiation "in order to arrive at a political solution to the conflict in respect of cultural, ethnic, and religious minorities," the pope said. He made his comments June 1 as Ahmed Hamid Elfaki Hamid presented his credentials as the new ambassador. Sudan's Darfur region has been beset by human rights abuses and other atrocities since February 2003 when fighting escalated between rebel groups and government troops and Janjaweed, or Arab militias. Human rights groups accuse the Janjaweed of waging a terror campaign against black Africans to push them from the land.

Copyright (c) 2007 Catholic News Service /U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. The CNS news report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or otherwise distributed, including but not limited to such means as framing or any other digital copying or distribution method, in whole or in part without the prior written authority of Catholic News Service .