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World must race against time to save Darfur -Annan ADDIS ABABA - U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan urged donors on Thursday to fund a bigger African peace mission to help end bloodshed in Darfur, where experts say hundreds are dying daily from war, hunger and disease. Annan warned rich nations at a pledging conference in neighboring Ethiopia that they would end up having to finance an "epic relief effort" if more violence made food even scarcer in the remote west of Sudan, Africa's largest country. "We are running a race against time. The rainy season and the 'hunger gap' are approaching fast, making our relief operations more difficult," Annan said in a speech at African Union (AU) headquarters in Addis Ababa. "If violence and fear prevent the people of Darfur from planting and growing crops next year, then millions will have to be sustained by an epic relief effort which will stretch international capacity to the maximum." The 53-nation AU has deployed about 2,300 troops to monitor a shaky ceasefire in Darfur, an area the size of France, with international financial backing to pay for the mission. The AU told donors it needs $724 million to more than triple its force there and equip it with attack helicopters, armored personnel carriers and fuel. Some 180,000 people have died in Darfur through violence, hunger and disease since a conflict broke out in February 2003 after rebels took up arms against the Arab-dominated government. Khartoum is accused of retaliating by arming local Arab militia, who burned down villages and slaughtered and raped civilians. The Crisis Group think tank says Darfur needs as many as 15,000 troops on the ground in the next 60 days and a mandate expanded to allow it to unilaterally protect citizens - at present the Sudan government has responsibility for that task. The genocide prevention group Aegis Trust said the AU needed an "absolute minimum" of 25,000 troops in Darfur, where it estimates 500 are dying daily. Crisis Group has estimated Darfur's monthly death toll at 10,000. The European Union and 26-nation NATO alliance have agreed to provide air transport and training for the expanded AU force. Annan urged rich nations to fund an expansion of the force "without delay," saying civilians were still being attacked. "I am confident that you will provide the support required for the effective expansion of the (AU) Mission," Annan said. "SITUATION UNACCEPTABLE" Annan also appealed for money to fund U.N. humanitarian activities around Sudan, where food distribution by the U.N. World Food Programme (WFP) faces a chronic shortage of funds. "More than three million will need relief to get through the next few months. We are still 350 million dollars short of what we require to provide that relief," he said. Annan said a bigger force would fail without agreement on both sides to pursue peace. He urged the rebels and government to resume AU-mediated talks, which stalled in December. "Ultimately, it is the supreme obligation of the parties to end the conflict in Darfur," he said. "They must apply themselves fully and we must remind them, relentlessly, that the AU-led Abuja process is the only game in town." In Nairobi, Abdel Wahed Mohamed al-Nur, leader of the Darfur rebel Sudan Liberation Army, called on the conference to help bring about the disarming of the Janjaweed Arab militia. He urged donors to provide "security in Darfur by means of international forces and arrest those accused of war crimes." Sudanese First Vice-President Ali Osman Mohamed Taha, speaking at the conference, urged the AU to send a clear message to the rebels to stop attacks on aid workers and civilians. |
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