US to grant 2.5 million dollars for mine clearance in southern Sudan

NAIROBI, Dec 9, 2004 (Xinhua) — The United States announced here Thursday it will grant 2.5 million US dollars to the World Food Program (WFP) of the United Nations for mine clearance and road repairs in southern Sudan.

A statement from the US embassy in Nairobi said the project would greatly facilitate the delivery of food to millions of people in the war-ravaged region.

“When we build, repair, and improve roads, the most important result is that we improve the means for communication between communities, and thereby help mitigate conflict,” Roger Winter, Assistant Administrator of the United States Agency for International Development, was quoted as saying.

The US Embassy said a letter of intent will be signed on Sunday in the northwestern Kenyan town of Naivasha, the venue of the current peace talks between the Sudanese government and southern rebels.

For more than 15 years, humanitarian aid destined for southern Sudan has been delivered largely by air, because of the poor roads and the insecurity caused by civil war.

Mine clearing in the largest country in Africa would sharply cut the cost of humanitarian aid by making road transport possible and allowing the return of refugees, the Sudanese government said.

The WFP began road mine-clearance project in southern Sudan in October, but was forced to stop the operation when funds ran out.

The Sudanese government and southern rebels signed last month an agreement, pledging to reach a final peace deal by the end of the year.

Civil war in southern Sudan was ignited in 1983 when rebels took up arms against the government to demand greater autonomy for the south. The 21-year conflict has claimed lives of some 2 million people.

Since 1993, Sudan peace talks has been held in Kenya, under the auspices of Inter-Governmental Authority on Development, aiming at ending the longest civil war in the continent.