UN must stop Darfur tragedy - GOAL

Irish aid agency GOAL has called for the deployment of UN peacekeepers in the Darfur region of western Sudan.

Thousands of people are at risk of starvation in the area due to a campaign of ethnic cleansing by militias left on the rampage by the Sudanese government.

GOAL said the situation had the potential to become the worst global tragedy in recent years, but a major crisis could be averted with UN intervention.

However, the agency’s chief executive, John O’Shea, has accused the UN Security Council of deliberately dithering on the matter in order to avoid its responsibilities to global peace and security.