UN envoy says crisis in western Sudan has intensified, BBC

LONDON, March 19, 2004 (Dow Jones) — The situation in Darfur in western Sudan has been described as the worst humanitarian situation in the world, reports the BBC on its Web site.

Speaking to the BBC, the U.N. co-ordinator for Sudan , Mukesh Kapila, said over more than one million people were affected by “ethnic cleansing”.

“This is ethnic cleansing, this is the world’s greatest humanitarian crisis, and I don’t know why the world isn’t doing more about it,” said Kapila.

He said fighting between government-backed Arab militia and local groups was characterized by scorched earth policies and systematic rape.

Aid agencies can only reach small parts of Darfur and are attacked, he said.

Kapila called for more aid and for urgent international intervention to bring about a ceasefire in the war that erupted a year ago.

He said efforts were being made to try to find a political solution, but more international pressure was needed.

The rebels of the Sudan Liberation Army and the Justice and Equality Movement accuse the Arab-dominated government of ignoring the black African inhabitants of Darfur.

More than 100,000 people have fled across the border into Chad, but have continued to face cross-border raids.

The fighting in the west of Sudan has intensified as government peace talks to resolve the 20-year war with southern rebels are nearing an end.