Friday, October 06, 2006

Annan Sounds Alarm Over Crisis in Darfur

By NICK WADHAMS

Darfur is creeping ever closer to catastrophe, with rape and violence on the rise, U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan said in a report Thursday, as the country warned that any nation offering troops for a future peacekeeping force would be committing a "hostile act."

In the report to the Security Council, Annan said a May peace deal was not being followed, and that humanitarian access is at its lowest level since 2004. Sudan's armed forces, as well as rebel factions and the militias, continue to violate international human rights law and humanitarian law with impunity, he said.

"It has now been three months since the Darfur peace agreement was signed," Annan wrote. "However, instead of reconciliation and building of trust, we are witnessing intensified violence and deeper polarization. The region is again on the brink of a catastrophic situation." Read more >>>

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