Darfur 'in urgent need of food'
2008-01-08 08:49
Khartoum - A rebel leader in Sudan's troubled western Darfur province on Monday said refugees in the region were suffering serious food shortages and promised aid agencies safe passage if they intervened.
"The need for food has become urgent and there is a significant lack in that area," Khalil Ibrahim, leader of the rebel Justice and Equality Movement (JEM), said.
Ibrahim said displaced people in camps north of Geneina, western Darfur's main town, were suffering food shortages and he called on the UN World Food Programme (WFP) and other aid agencies to intervene, saying his fighters were ready to offer them protection.
JEM rebels had recently stepped up attacks in the region, which had also been bombed by warplanes from neighbouring Chad, attacking Chadian rebel bases located south of Geneina.
The group had refused to take part in United Nations-African Union sponsored peace talks aimed at ending the violence in Darfur, where 200 000 people had died and more than two million been displaced, according to international organisations.