Sudanese FM in Paris on Wednesday for talks on Darfur

PARIS, July 20 (AFP) — Sudanese Foreign Minister Mustafa Ismail will meet with his French counterpart Michel Barnier in Paris on Wednesday for talks likely to focus on the situation in Sudan’s war-ravaged western Darfur region.

Paris is “concerned” about the ongoing crisis in Darfur, and Barnier will discuss with Ismail the political and humanitarian steps necessary to put an end to the conflict, said French foreign ministry spokeswoman Marie Masdupuy.

The ministers will hold a press conference at the end of their talks.

The Darfur region is in the throes of what the United Nations has described as the world’s worst humanitarian crisis, with a major famine looming and humanitarian relief operations hampered by rains.

More than 10,000 people have been killed in Darfur since rebel groups rose up in February 2003, prompting a heavy-handed response from Sudanese forces and government-sponsored Arab militia.

More than a million people have been displaced.

Barnier is due to visit the Darfur region next week.