Netherlands calls for more EU aid to Sudan’s war-torn Darfur region

THE HAGUE, July 5 (AFP) — European Union countries should boost their emergency aid to Sudan’s hunger-stricken region of Darfur, Dutch Development and Cooperation Minister Agnes van Ardenne said Monday.

To set an example, the Netherlands, which currently holds the rotating EU presidency, will release a further 10 million euros to help the region described by the UN as one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises, her ministry added in a statement.

At least 10,000 people have died and more than a million have been driven from their homes in Darfur in western Sudan since an uprising against the Khartoum government broke out in February 2003.

In retaliation, government forces and so-called Janjawid militias carried out what various officials describe as a brutal campaign of ethnic cleansing and forced starvation.

The Netherlands has already pledged 10 million euros in aid for Darfur. The extra 10 million pledged Monday will go to UN agencies operating there as well as to the International Committee of the Red Cross.

The UN has asked for a total of 250 million dollars (205 million euros) in aid for Darfur. By last Friday it had received just 78 million dollars, according to UN officials.

Van Ardenne was due to attend an African Union summit in Ethiopia on Tuesday, at which the crisis in Darfur is expected to be one of the key issues.