Minister Ahern flying to Sudan today

The Minister for Foreign Affairs Dermot Ahern is flying to Sudan today to begin a week long visit to north Africa.

He will hold a series of meetings with the Sudanese Government, to discuss the volatile situation in the western region of Darfur.

Irish aid agencies have been putting pressure on Minister Ahern to maximise his time with the Sudanese government.

They want him to convince Sudan to lift the ban on UN peacekeepers being deployed to the war-torn region of Darfur.

Minister Ahern will visit displacement camps in Darfur, where hundreds of thousands of people have fallen victim to a bitter two-year conflict.

He will then travel to Ethiopia where he will meet with political leaders, and visit projects run by Irish aid agencies Goal and Concern.