UN special envoy arrives in Sudan over humanitarian affairs

NAIROBI, Feb 12, 2004 (Xinhua) — The United Nations (UN) secretary- general’s special envoy for humanitarian affairs for the Sudan, Ambassador Tom Eric Vraalsen, arrived in Khartoum on Thursday to discuss the relief operations with the Sudanese government, according to the UN Office in Nairobi.

“His mission follows up on the promise made on Feb. 9 by the president of the Republic of the Sudan, Omar Hassan Ahmed Al- Bashir, to provide access to aid workers so that they can reach millions of suffering civilians in Darfur region,” a statement from the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said.

The UN special envoy will also discuss with the authorities putting in place an all-inclusive humanitarian ceasefire for Darfur so that aid agencies can have unimpeded access to those in need, said the statement.

The Sudanese civil war started as the Sudan People’s Liberation Army took up arms fighting for self-determination in the southern part of the country in 1983.

The conflict has left some two million people dead, mostly through war-induced famine and disease.

Darfur, in the western part of the Sudan, covers roughly one- fifth of the country’s territory and is home to six million people.

Nearly three million people affected by the conflict in Darfur have remained beyond the reach of aid agencies trying to provide essential humanitarian aid.

UN aid agencies estimate that they have been able to reach only 15 percent of people in need in the region.