Sudanese president names new governor for troubled Southern Darfur state

Thursday June 24th, 2004.

KHARTOUM, Sudan, June 24, 2004 (AP) -- Sudanese President Omar el-Bashir has fired the governor of Southern Darfur state and appointed a new one as a first step to disarming outlawed militias and restoring order to the region that is suffering a large-scale humanitarian crisis.

El-Bashir, chairing a meeting of the ruling National Congress party's leadership that ended in the early hours of Thursday, fired Gen. Adam Hamed Moussa and appointed Atta el-Mannan as a new governor for the state.

"This is the beginning of reshaping the structure of the leadership in Southern Darfur and Greater Darfur to restore order and improve loose security to open the road for humanitarian relief aid," Ibrahim Ahmed Omar, the party's secretary general, told reporters.

El-Bashir, under international pressure to end killings of civilians in the western Darfur region, announced Saturday that the armed forces will disarm the Arab militias blamed for what the United Nations has called the world's worst humanitarian crisis.

He also ordered a "complete mobilization" of all Sudanese army and security forces to disarm all Darfur's warring parties, including the janjaweed -- nomadic Arab militia that the government has been accused of supporting against the African residents.

Although Sudan last month eased restrictions to allow more humanitarian access to the region, the United Nations has continued to accuse the government of impeding relief supplies and workers.

Also Thursday, Humanitarian Affairs Minister Ibrahim Hamed said the government has withdrawn the work permits of several international humanitarian groups working in Darfur, accusing them of harming national security.

"Some international humanitarian groups have special aims and intentions and the government will not hesitate to adopt severe measures and punish any group which is proved to be involved in anti-Sudan action," the official Sudan Media Center quoted the minister as saying.

He did not name the groups nor explain what they may have done wrong.

Fighting between Arab militias and the black African population has killed thousands of people and forced more than 1 million to flee their homes. International rights groups say the government has backed the Arab militia in an ethnic cleansing campaign against the African villagers.

The government has strongly denied the accusations, saying the conflict was a result of tribal conflicts over land and water resources.