'Protect aid workers in Darfur'

2006-11-15 21:58

Khartoum - United Nations humanitarian chief Jan Egeland urged the Sudanese government on Wednesday to improve security conditions for aid workers in the war-torn western region of Darfur after a spate of deaths in recent months.

"The situation is very difficult and the security has deteriorated.

"There are courageous humanitarian workers who feel the need for more help to enable work for the civilian population," said Egeland after a meeting with humanitarian affairs minister Costi Manibe.

"We brought up a series of concerns we had," about the conditions for aid workers in Darfur, said Egeland, adding that he received "some very positive responses from the minister".

"I highlighted the need to see everything done to avoid more attacks on civilian population and further attacks on humanitarian workers."

'Security problems in some areas'

For his part, the Sudanese commissioner for humanitarian aid, Hassabou Mohammed Abdullah, acknowledged "security problems in some areas" of Darfur, attributing them to rebels who did not sign a May peace deal aimed at ending the three-and-a-half-year-old conflict.

At least a dozen aid workers have been killed since the government inked the agreement with the mainstream faction of the Sudan Liberation Movement.

According to the UN, about 200 000 people have died in Darfur from the combined effects of fighting, famine and disease since the ethnic minority rebels rose up in early 2003, drawing a scorched earth response from the government.

Some sources say the toll is much higher.

- SAPA