Canada’s Martin to press Sudan on Darfur crisis

OTTAWA, Nov 2 (Reuters) – Canadian Prime Minister Paul Martin will travel to Khartoum at the end of November to urge Sudan’s leaders to do all they can to end the crisis in the Darfur region, officials said on Tuesday.

More than 1.5 million people have been driven from their homes by violence in Darfur in what the United Nations calls the worst humanitarian crisis facing the globe.

“He (Martin) wants to call on the president and vice-president to urge them to make good on their commitment to do everything possible to secure peace and order in the Sudan,” said a spokesman for the prime minister.

“Unimaginable suffering has occurred and the weight of direct appeals from leaders of the Group of Eight nations is needed to help advance the cause of peace.”

British Prime Minister Tony Blair — who visited Sudan last month — and United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan both encouraged Martin to make the trip, the spokesman said.

The United Nations says at least 70,000 people have died from disease and malnutrition since March, a figure disputed by Khartoum. Canada has given C$20 million ($16 million) to the African Union to help it send a mission to Darfur.

Martin is due to attend a summit of French-speaking nations in the western African nation of Burkina Faso on Nov. 26 and Nov 27. The spokesman would not say exactly when he planned to be in Khartoum.

($1=$1.23 Canadian)