EU Mission Heads to Troubled Sudan

An EU team of military and civilian experts left Tuesday for a five-day trip to the troubled area of Darfur in Sudan looking for ways of implementing a cease-fire, according to Agence France Presse. An aide to the EU's High Representative for Foreign Affairs, Javier Solana, told AFP, "The goal is to assess how the EU can help the African Union in strengthening the existing cease-fire monitoring mission."

International pressure is growing on Sudanese authorities to rein in Arab Janjaweed militiamen, who stand accused of slaughtering and raping Sudanese in Darfur and forcing thousands others to flee. At a recent meeting of EU foreign ministers, the union made it clear that sanctions would be considered if violence does not cease. The United Nations Security Council last week threatened "international measures" if the militia were not brought under control. (EUobserver.com)