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USAID seeks security for aid convoys to war-torn area of Sudan
Jordan Times, Tuesday, October 28, 2003
KHARTOUM (AFP) — The US Agency for International Development (USAID) has asked the Sudanese government to provide security for its aid convoys to Sudan's war-torn western region of Darfur. "We have asked the Sudanese government to help us with security and access," USAID administrator, Andrew Natsios, told a news conference held at the US embassy here on Sunday.
"We cannot provide humanitarian relief to the displaced people in Darfur unless there is security for our convoys, our workers and our commodities."
"We are concerned about the fighting in Darfur and despite a ceasefire which is not in force in some areas, more people are killed and around 600,000, according to United Nations agencies, are internally displaced," he added.
He said nine truck drivers, all Sudanese, were killed in an attack two weeks ago on a World Food Programme convoy in the area.
The conflict between the government and the Sudan Liberation Army (SLA) in Darfur, a semi-desert region bordering Chad, has left some 3,000 dead so far this year, according to UN estimates.
The rebels complain that the central government has neglected the economic needs of the region, which is home to several indigenous minorities. Natsios said he planned a two-day tour in Darfur to see how his agency could contribute assistance, before heading to a southern region held by the rebel Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA).
He said would then travel to Kenya to "discuss with the negotiators the post-peace agreement plans" between Khartoum and the SPLA.
Kenya is hosting the talks between the Sudanese government and the SPLA. The negotiations adjourned Sunday for the Holy Month of Ramadan and are to resume on Nov. 30.
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| Earth, a planet hungry for peace |
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| The Israeli apartheid (security) wall around Palestinian population centers (Ran Cohen, pmc, 5/24/03). |
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| The Israeli apartheid (security) wall around Palestinian population centers in the West Bank (Ran Cohen, pmc, 5/24/03). |
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