Sudan's Beshir accuses US of backing Darfur rebels 'to the hilt'

CAIRO, Sept 30 (AFP) - Sudanese President Omar el-Beshir has accused the United States of backing rebels "to the hilt" in the country's war-torn Darfur region and said the crisis there has been blown out of all proportion.
His remarks in an interview Thursday in Egypt's government daily Al-Ahram, came as violence in the region continued and as one of his ministers slammed the chief of the UN refugee agency for meddling in Sudanese politics.
"I must again point out that the United States is supporting the rebels in Darfur to the hilt and (highlight) its pressure on the (UN) Security Council" to impose solutions on Sudan, Beshir was quoted as saying.
He added the crisis in Darfur, where about 1.4 million people have been displaced and an estimated 50,000 killed in a conflict that erupted in February 2003, "has taken on dimensions much larger than it really represents."
Claiming that Sudan was "behaving itself," Beshir said there would be "no turning back on peace, democracy and political pluralism" in the country.
The United States has charged that genocide is being carried out in the vast Darfur region and is has been pushing the Security Council for tough action against Khartoum.
Sudan denies the charge, but has grudgingly accepted the demands of the council, which called for Khartoum in a resolution this month to rein in militias and provide security and aid distribution to allow displaced people to return to their homes.
In the latest fighting, government troops repulsed a rebel attack in South Darfur state after killing three rebels and seizing numerous weapons, Sudanese police said Thursday.
Agriculture Minister Majzub al-Khalifa Ahmed, quoted by Akhbar Al-Youm daily in Khartoum, said the government had no plan to grant self-rule to Darfur and also "does not speak at the moment about autonomy to any region in the north".
He also hit out at UN High Commissioner for Refugees Ruud Lubbers, who was recently in Sudan, branding him as "unqualified for handling political issues."
Lubbers "has overstepped his limits in the Sudan", he said, adding that the UNHCR is limited to meeting the needs of Sudanese refugees in Chad and to their voluntary repatriation "rather than talking about domestic political issues".
Ahmed said a recent statement by Sudan's Foreign Minister Mustafa Ismail was "misinterpreted" to appear as a government intention of granting self-rule to Darfur and other states as proposed by Lubbers.
Instead, Ismail was talking about "strengthening the federal rule."
The head of the Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM), John Garang, said Thursday he was not opposed to sanctions on the Sudanese government if needed to resolve the Darfur crisis.
Sanctions could "save the lives of people who are at risk", Garang told reporters in Cairo.
He said the government had done little to disarm the Arab Janjaweed militias blamed for many of the atrocities against African farmers in the region, including murder, rape and destruction of villages.
The SPLM leader proposed setting up a 30,000-strong "neutral" force made up of troops from its armed wing, the Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA), government forces and African Union troops to enforce peace in Darfur.
Each party could contribute 10,000 troops, he said.
Meanwhile, a Darfur rebel force attacked Menwachi village in South Darfur on Monday, Sudanese police said.
"Our forces stood up to the attackers and drove them back after killing three of them and seizing numerous weapons of different kinds, while our forces have not sustained any losses," a police statement said.
The bloodshed began in February 2003 when rebels rose up against Khartoum to demand an end to the alleged marginalisation of their region, one of the poorest in Sudan.