U.S. Rep. Christopher Smith (R-4th Dist.) returned this week from the Sudan and vowed to press the Bush administration to provide new aid for African Union peacekeepers in the embattled Darfur region.

    At one camp in Mukjar, in western Darfur, Smith said the 12,500 residents are virtual shut-ins, fearful of violent Arab tribal militia members in surrounding areas. 

    "They can't go a mile outside the camp without fear of being shot. You get the sense from the people that they are grateful to have a refugee camp that is secure, but that they want to return to their homes," Smith said. 

    About 5,000 African Union troops are in the region, Smith said, though there are plans to more than double that number. He said he intends to petition the State Department to increase U.S. aid to the peacekeepers. 

    "The Africa Union troops are all about protection," said Smith, chairman of the House Subcommittee on Africa and global human rights. 

    "They have a lists of unanswered needs that need to be met, especially vehicles and communications. They also need money. They pay their troops $1.28 per day -- even by African standards that's peanuts for putting their lives on the line," he said. 

    Smith said he found the camps he visited to be "crowded, but livable," and that their populations are receiving stable supplies of food, clean water and medicine. 

    "The overriding concern is to go back to their homes and rebuild and they have to do that with a sense that they have security. That's the next goal," Smith said. 

    During meetings with Sudanese leaders, Smith said the U.S. would not ease economic sanctions on the Khartoum government unless it demonstrates a new commitment to human rights. 

    Members of Sudanese black African tribes were forced to quit their homes for refugee camps in the face of attacks from Arab tribal militias. The Arab-dominated government of Sudan has been accused of ignoring the violence.