UN envoy to visit Sudan’s war-torn Darfur region

NAIROBI, Jan 26, 2005 (Xinhua) — Top United Nations envoy for Sudan will begin “a routine working visit” Wednesday to Sudan’s western Darfur region, where renewed fighting last week uprooted nearly 8, 000 people, according to a UN statement available here.

Following his two-day visit, UN Secretary General Kofi Annan’s Special Representative Jan Pronk will go to the Nigerian capital of Abuja for Saturday’s summit meeting of the African Union (AU), where the Darfur issue is high on the agenda, said the statement.

Tens of thousands of people have been killed and at least 1.85 million people forced from their homes in Darfur since rebels took up arms against the Sudanese government in early 2003 in protest partly at the distribution of economic resources.

The Darfur conflict began two years ago when rebels in the region revolted, claiming the Khartoum government had been neglecting their interests.

The precise casualty toll is not known but it is believed thousands have been killed and over one million people are internally displaced or have fled across the border as refugees in neighboring Chad.