By KUNA
London : British Muslims Friday called on the Arab League to act over the ongoing crisis in Darfur.
In a letter to the organization’s Secretary General Amr Moussa, a coalition of more than 20 Muslim groups, including the Muslim Council of Britain and the Muslim Association of Britain, demanded “urgent attention” to the violence in Sudan.
Arab League ministers, meeting at a conference in Damascus this week, were also urged to prove that they are not taking “ethnic sides” in the conflict.
Up to 400,000 people have been killed since violence erupted in the region in 2003. Millions more have been displaced, with upwards of 2.5 million living in refugee camps, according to Western estimates.
The Arab League, which represents Arab states in the Middle East and north Africa, has come under criticism from human rights groups for inaction in the face of mass killings.
Today, leading British and international Muslim charities and pressure groups piled further pressure on the regional body to act.
In an open letter delivered to the Arab League earlier this week, the coalition stated, “The crisis has cost the lives of at least 200,000 Muslims, yet has not yet captured the attention of the Muslim world in the way that it should”.
The message goes on to attack the Sudanese Government for placing “many obstacles” in the path of the UN peacekeeping force.
It urges Arab League ministers to “call for an end to the obstructions on the deployment and call on those countries which have the capability to offer their own resources and manpower to support this for the protection of civilians”.
The coalition also calls on the League’s member states to “contribute much more to the humanitarian operation” and “put pressure on all sides to engage honestly in the talks and encourage all sides to show flexibility”.