Chaos and collapse threaten war-torn Darfur

CHAOS is looming in Sudan’s western Darfur region as violence increases, order collapses, and the number of desperate people in need of humanitarian aid reaches nearly 2.3 million, UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan said in a report to the United Nations Security Council.

The optimism generated by an agreement between the government and two rebel groups on humanitarian and security issues has been overshadowed by the deteriorating security situation in recent weeks, Secretary-General Annan said yesterday.

The 15-page report details daily attacks, village burnings, rapes, hijackings of relief goods, theft of livestock, the forced movement of thousands of displaced people, and numerous deaths. The violence reached a high point on November 22 when the rebel Sudan Liberation Army attacked the town of Tawila in north Darfur and took control of all police posts within a few hours.