Darfur is in worse shape than four years ago, Ban says

New York - UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said Friday that the conditions in Sudan's war-torn western region of Darfur have worsened, four years after the UN Security Council first turned its attention on the ethnic conflict there.

'The situation remains grim today, as then, if not worse,' Ban said in assessing the situation. 'Violence targeting civilians, including women and girls, continues at alarming levels with no accountability, or end, in sight.'

Of Darfur's population of 4.27 million, a total of 2.45 million people have been displaced by the fighting and continue to suffer from the conflict pitting black African rebel groups against Arab militias backed by the government in Khartoum. More than 300,000 people have died since the conflict erupted in 2003.

Ban in a statement said more than 100,000 Darfurians have been forced to flee the violence so far this year. Read more>>>>>>>>>>