Fergie's Tech Blog

UN Puts Darfur Death Toll at 300,000

Maggie Farley writes in The Los Angeles Times:

The U.N.'s humanitarian chief on Tuesday updated the estimated number of conflict-related deaths in Darfur to about 300,000 and lamented that efforts to solve the crisis were stalled on all fronts.

In a briefing to the Security Council, John Holmes, the U.N. undersecretary-general for humanitarian affairs, said that continued attacks make it more difficult for aid workers to reach vulnerable people, food aid is about to be halved, the deployment of peacekeepers is beset by obstacles and the peace process has stalled.

"I am saddened and angry that after five years of suffering and four years since this council became actively engaged, we have still not been able to find a lasting solution to the suffering of these millions of men, women and children," he said.

Holmes also noted that there are six times more people suffering in Darfur than when the council first took up the issue four years ago this month. He said that five years of fighting between rebels and government-backed militias has seriously affected 4.27 million people, with 2.45 million driven from their homes and an additional 260,000 becoming refugees in neighboring countries.

posted by Fergie @ 4/22/2008 08:54:00 PM