British charities launch Darfur appeal

LONDON, July 20 (AFP) — British charities launched an appeal for the Darfur region of Sudan, where more than a million refugees have been driven from their homes by violence.

“The scale of the crisis is overwhelming, and although aid agencies are working very hard to provide basic things like food, water, shelter, and sanitation, two million people in the region need food aid,” said Sophie Battas, a spokeswoman for the Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC), an umbrella group handling Britain’s Darfur appeal.

“People have lost family members, been driven from their homes and lost everything they own,” said Battas, who has just returned from four months working in Darfur.

“More Sudanese continue to leave their villages daily in search of safety within Darfur or across the border in Chad,” she said.

Volunteers manned 4,000 phone lines to take the first of what are hoped to be a flood of donations to the DEC from a public horrified by scenes of suffering in the east African state.

International humanitarian organizations estimate that at least 10,000 people have died in the conflict in Darfur, which erupted in February 2003.

The conflict has been exacerbated by a reign of terror unleashed by government-backed militia groups such as the Janjawid, a notorious group the international community has repeatedly urged Khartoum to disarm and disband.

“The UK Government welcomes the launch of a DEC appeal for Darfur,” said Britain’s International Development Secretary Hilary Benn. “The situation there is of grave concern and urgent action is required by all of us.”

“The international community must redouble its efforts. UN agencies and NGOs need to deploy experienced staff quickly.

Benn called on Sudan to urgently put a stop to attacks on civilians, to help ceasefire monitors to get to work, and to remove the remaining obstacles to humanitarian access.

Among the charities involved in the appeal are the British Red Cross, Christian Aid, Oxfam and World Vision.