Int’l investigation committee on Darfur to arrive in Sudan

KHARTOUM, Oct 23, 2004 (Xinhua) — Sudanese Foreign Minister Mustafa Ismail has said that an international committee for investigation on the Darfur crisis was due to arrive in Sudan shortly, the English-language daily Sudan Vision reported on Saturday.

Ismail was quoted as saying that UN chief Kofi Annan has sent a message to Sudan’s government on the formation of the committee along with tasks and names of its members.

The minister also said that the international community has provided up to 58 percent of funds which it pledged to an African monitoring force in Darfur.

“Sudan calls on the international community and donors to meet their commitments, so that the African Union and humanitarian aid organizations can carry out their tasks in Darfur,” he said.

Annan has appealed for donors to urgently help meet a shortfall of 200 million US dollars needed for its humanitarian program in the war-torn region.

“We are about a little over 200 million dollars short and I would appeal to all governments with capacity to help, and help urgently,” Annan has said recently.

International efforts have been underway for months to end the conflict in Darfur, which the UN considers the world’s worst humanitarian crisis.

Last month, peace talks between the warring parties in Nigeria, were suspended after they failed to agree on the scope of the negotiations.

The UN Security Council adopted a resolution on Sept. 18, urgingthe Sudanese government to stabilize the situation in Darfur and fully cooperate with the AU.

The African Union has spearheaded efforts to resolve the crisis and is working to deploy a 4,500-strong force from around five African countries in Sudan to oversee the peace process.