Japan pledges over 2m dollars for AU’s Sudan projects

Rwandan troops operating under the Africa Union mandate walk inside the AU base in Kab Kabiya, Sudan. (AFP)

TOKYO, Japan, March 28, 2005 (Kyodo) — Japan will give the African Union 2.07m dollars to help the organization deal with problems stemming from long-time conflicts in the Darfur region of Sudan, the Japanese Foreign Ministry said Monday.

Of the total, 1.44m dollars will be mainly used for activities by the African Union aimed at maintaining a cease-fire between the Sudanese government and rebels and 300,000 dollars will be spent to help the union run liaison offices monitoring the process in and near Sudan.

It is the first time Japan has provided aid with the aim of helping the peace process in Darfur since the cease-fire was agreed last year, a ministry official said.

Japan provided 21m dollars in humanitarian aid with the aim of helping people affected by the conflicts, including refugees, through UN organizations last year.