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Canada has been a donor to the IGAD peace process, but, along with European funders, withdrew late last year, declaring that insufficient progress had been made.

The church leaders said in their statement: "We also insist that an accelerated peace process is critically linked to the moratorium. The Canadian government should take high-level diplomatic and practical initiatives to support African nations in bringing about a speedy end to a vicious and brutal civil war."

The delegates visited areas hard hit by the war just south of the oil fields. They met with the most vulnerable people—civilians, women, children and the internally displaced, as well as church and local authorities.

"We listened to accounts of slaughter and burnings from people who had fled for their lives days earlier," the church leaders said. "Some displaced persons told us: 'They [the government] want our land without us on it to give to the oil companies.'"

Sudanese church leaders told the delegation the tactics of the Khartoum government were "genocidal."

Systematic bombings in the region, along with attacks on civilian targets, forced displacement of civilian populations, mass starvation and other acts of terrorism have been well documented by human rights agencies. According to the delegation, they require urgent action by the international community.

"We were particularly moved by meetings with people who in terror had fled their defenseless villages under attack by government troops and the militias they support, and were forced to leave behind their dead and injured relatives, including women, children and the elderly," the Canadians said after interviewing hundreds of displaced Nuer people. The displaced people said thousands of others had been killed or left behind.

"We cannot disguise the fact that a major factor in the suffering of millions of innocent people is the rapid exploration, development and production of oil located in the south and which has killed and displaced untold numbers of people, forcing them to flee their homes and land for an uncertain future."

The mission was invited to visit the country by the Sudan Council of Churches, based in Khartoum, and the New Sudan Council of Churches.

While oil is not the only factor in the war, the revenues from the oil, all of which accrue to the Khartoum government, are making the conflict, according to observers, far more dangerous and destructive. Sudanese government leaders have acknowledged that oil revenues are being used to purchase weapons and build munitions factories.

"We believe the government now thinks it can win the war militarily and seems to want to crush all opposition groups in the north and south. 'Sudanese need peace first, and oil later,' many Sudanese church leaders told us.

"We agree with them, and that is why we, along with the Sudanese churches, are calling for a total moratorium on oil development until peace is in place," the Canadian statement said.

ENI tried unsuccessfully to obtain comment from Talisman Energy.

Copyright © 2001 ENI.

Our earlier coverage of the Sudan genocide includes:

Slave Redemption | Americans are becoming instant abolitionists. But is the movement backfiring? (Aug. 9, 1999)

Sudan Loses Election for U.N. Security Council Seat | Sanctions continue to plague the African nation's bid for international acceptance. (Oct. 12, 2000)

Southern Sudan Bombed Despite Cease-fire Promise | Details sketchy from town of Yei, near Democratic Republic of the Congo. (May 8, 2000)

Editorial: Confronting Sudan's Evils | Western Christians and governments should press Khartoum on multiple fronts. (Apr. 12, 2000)

Sudan Relief Operations Endangered | Rebel demands cause agencies to curtail efforts. (April 3, 2000)

Bombs Continue to Fall on Ministry Hospitals in Sudan | Samaritan's Purse hit for fourth time, two killed in Voice of the Martyrs bombing. (March 24, 2000)

Mixing Oil and Blood | Sudan's 'slaughter of the innocents' toughens religious freedom coalition. (Mar. 15, 2000)

Protest Begins as White House Rethinks Policy on Sudan Regime | Religious leaders urge Clinton administration to act against oppression. (Feb. 10, 2000)

Christian Solidarity Loses U.N. Status | Slave-freeing organization's rebel spokesman violated U.N. rules (Dec. 14, 1999)

Sudan Releases Jailed Catholic Priests | President Resolves Impasse in Contrived Bombing Trial (Dec. 13, 1999)

Jailed Sudanese Priests Reject Presidential Amnesty | Clerics waiting for 'total acquittal' by courts. (Dec. 6, 1999)

Oil Exports Draw Protests | Christians urge divestment from Canadian company (Nov. 15, 1999)

Starvation Puts 150,000 at Risk (Sept. 6,1999)

The Price of a Slave | "I was taken by a slave master [who] beat me and shamed me, telling me that I was like a dog." (Feb. 8, 1999)

Sudanese Christians Bloody, but Unbowed (Aug. 10, 1998)

How Apin Akot Redeemed His Daughter (Mar. 2, 1998)

Muslim-Christian Conflicts May Destabilize East Africa | Christians raped, forced into slavery, and killed. (Apr. 29, 1996)

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April (Web-only) 2001, Vol. 45