'Pledges good. Cash better'

2005-04-12 10:51

Oslo - United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan has told a 60-nation donor conference that immediate cash and not just pledges are needed to help Sudan recover from Africa's longest civil war.

"Pledges are good. Cash is better," Annan said om Monday at the opening of the two-day meeting in Oslo, adding that $1bn is needed just for the rest of this year.

"In the south, we will run out of food for 2 million people in a matter of weeks," Annan told delegates. "If there was ever a time for donor countries to get off the fence, it is now."

He said $2.6bn was needed over the next two-and-a-half years after a peace accord in January ended a 21-year civil war in southern Sudan.

Annan also urged Sudan's government to take action in the separate conflict in its western Darfur region, namely to curb pro-government militia forces, known as the Janjaweed.

Hard-hit by violence

Darfur remains hard hit by violence that began in February 2003, when two non-Arab rebel groups took up arms against the Arab-dominated government to win more political and economic rights for the region's African tribes.

"I think it is important in Darfur that measures are taken (by the government) to check the militia, the Janjaweed," Annan said at a news conference.

Sudan's Arab government is accused of backing the Janjaweed militiamen, who have carried out rapes and killings against Sudanese of African origin in a brutal counter-insurgency campaign. The government denies the claim.

Annan said UN sanctions and potential war crimes charges against those responsible for the violence in Darfur "are not aimed at the people or government of Sudan. ... They target individuals responsible for heinous crimes."

Annan urged donor countries not to be deterred by the lingering Darfur conflict.

With the peace accord opening the way for badly needed aid in southern Sudan, the World Bank estimated that $8.6bn is needed just in 2006 and 2007.

Former rebel leader John Garang of the Sudan People's Liberation Movement and now a first vice-president in the transitional government, told delegates that "in southern Sudan we literally have to start from scratch."

Garang said they need roads, power, infrastructure for government, business development and basic essentials.

About 2 000 peacekeepers from the African Union are already in the region, but more are needed, with a target of an African force of 12 000 by September, Annan said.

The secretary-general also said he had discussed a UN security council resolution to send 10 000 peacekeepers with both sides in the now-united government and "they promised support."

The World Bank expects 1.2 million refugees to return to southern Sudan in the next two years.

"If we do not have the resources, they could be at risk," Annan said. - AP

- SAPA