Aid access improves to war-torn Darfur, says minister

KHARTOUM, Feb 26 (Reuters) – Major roads to the northern region of conflict-stricken west Sudan are now open for relief supplies, a Sudanese minister told the official news agency SUNA on Thursday, raising hopes a humanitarian crisis can be avoided.

Humanitarian Assistance Minister Ibrahim Mahmud Hamid said aid could now reach all of Northern Darfur state, which has been subject to heavy fighting in the past year since rebels took up arms against the government saying it was neglecting Darfur.

The United Nations agreed its access to the vast area had improved, to about 25 percent from 15 percent in early February.

“We now have access to about 25 percent of the displaced people inside Darfur thanks to some improvement in security and some improvement in access,” a UN spokesman said on Thursday.

The government announced earlier this month it had crushed the rebellion, paving the way for opening new “corridors” for relief supplies.

Rebels from the two main groups have dismissed government claims of victory. On Wednesday, rebels said they had opened a new front in the Kordofan region, neighbouring Darfur.

“Major roads to all parts of Northern Darfur are now open for moving humanitarian aid to all areas in Northern Darfur state up to Al-Geneina,” the minister said. The town of Al-Geneina is 1,100 km (680 miles) west of Khartoum.

The United Nations has warned of a humanitarian crisis with about a million Sudanese fleeing the fighting.

The U.S. embassy in Khartoum said in a statement that President George W. Bush had approved $12 million to “support initial Sudanese refugee returns and help meet the needs of newly arriving refugees in Chad”.