Annan says violence increasing in Darfur

The Secretary-General of the United Nations, Mr Kofi Annan, has said violence intensified in Darfur last month and there are …

The Secretary-General of the United Nations, Mr Kofi Annan, has said violence intensified in Darfur last month and there are strong indications of war crimes being committed "on a large and systematic scale."

Mr Annan accused the government and rebels of trying to take more territory in Darfur instead of complying with UN demands to end the violence.

Jan Pronk, the UN envoy to Sudan who wrote the report, will present it to the Security Council later today. It recommends that members take "prompt action" to get the government and rebels to comply with the UN resolutions and urges countries with influence to exert pressure on the parties to negotiate a peace deal.

The United Nations has called Darfur the world's worst humanitarian crisis, saying the conflict there has claimed 70,000 lives since March - mostly through disease and hunger.

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Originally a clash between black African farmers and Arab nomads over the distribution of scarce resources, the conflict has grown into a counterinsurgency in which pro-government Arab militia have raped, killed and burned the villages of their enemy.

According to the report, the estimate of people affected by the conflict rose during September from 1.8 million to 2 million and is expected to continue climbing in the months to come.

The increase stems mainly from the growing number of people who have fled their homes, now 1.6 million, the report said. A further 400,000 people are in need of humanitarian assistance.

Pronk said the 2 million figure is a 100 percent increase in the number of people needing humanitarian assistance since April. Donors have funded 75 percent of the money needed for Darfur this year — $397 million of $534 million. He appealed for the rest.

The report also cited various sources as saying a new rebel group that calls itself the National Movement for Reformation and Development has attacked government troops and threatened a small African contingent seeking to stabilize the area.

AP