Annan visits Sudan
2005-05-27 10:03
Nairobi - United Nations (UN) Secretary-General Kofi Annan was set to start a three-day trip to Sudan on Friday, during which he will visit both the troubled Darfur region and the southern part of the country where a peace agreement was recently signed to end 21 years of war.
Annan will travel from Ethiopia, where he chaired a conference on Thursday attempting to increase support for the African Union (AU) peacekeeping mission in Darfur.
"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 UN chief warned during the conference.
In response, major donors pledged $200m for the AU effort. The AU chief Alpha Oumar Konare said afterward he considered the conference "very successful".
Kofi Annan added the pledging conference had reaffirmed "the leadership of the African Union in restoring peace in Darfur through both their peacekeeping and mediation efforts".
The current AU force in Darfur numbers about 2 oops, but the AU recently approved an increase of the force to 7 oops, to be deployed in September. The organisations said it needs $460m to increase its presence in Darfur as planned.
The conflict in Darfur, which has claimed an estimated 180 000 to 300 000 lives, involves government-backed militias who have been systematically attacking ethnic African Sudanese.
Kofi Annan will start his Sudan visit by meeting with the country's president Omar al-Bashir, and is also scheduled to meet the former southern rebel leader John Garang, who is soon to take up a position as vice-president in an interim government. - Sapa-dpa
- SAPA