The United Nations’ Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs Jan Egeland on Monday attacked the Sudanese government for its denial of "the killings, the displacements and the rape of women [in Darfur]," the U.N. News Center reported.
Egeland, who has visited Sudan four times since 2004, said that as the armed attacks in Darfur had not stopped, the situation was today "closer to the abyss than I have witnessed since my first visit." Egeland’s recent mission to the region was cut short because the Sudanese government denied him access to several areas.
"The government’s failure to protect its own citizens even in areas where there are no rebels has been shameful," Egeland said. So far, only one armed group – the Janjawid – was widely known to have acted in Darfur, arguably aided by the central government. Egeland warned, that "large new militias" were being armed, adding to the suffering of the local people.
The United Nations revealed that four million people – two thirds of the region’s population – are now in need of emergency assistance. But so far the Sudanese government has rejected the expansion of the UN mission in the Darfur. U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Anan said on Wednesday he was awaiting a letter from Sudan’s government regarding an agreement reached last week on the hybrid U.N.-African Union force for Darfur.