Annan Calls for More Darfur Aid

The UN secretary-general, Kofi Annan, today urged governments to give more aid funding to the Darfur region of Sudan.

A spokeswoman for Mr Annan said he had written letters to key donor countries in an effort to meet a £105m shortfall.

The move comes amid growing criticism at the delay of a security council resolution on the crisis in Sudan. Egypt today said it would try to prevent adoption of a US-drafted UN resolution threatening the Sudanese government with sanctions if it did not rein in Arab militias blamed for the deaths of thousands in Darfur.

The Egyptian foreign minister, Ahmed Aboul Gheit, said Sudan needed more time to meet its promises to disarm militias and restore order in Darfur, where up to 30,000 people - mostly African farmers - have been killed.

The US wants a resolution warning Sudan to protect civilians or face sanctions in 30 days and imposing a weapons embargo on armed groups in Darfur.

Both the US and British governments are reported to be gathering evidence to determine whether genocide is being committed in the region. Sudan has bridled at increasing international pressure, and it is not clear how it would react to an offer of peacekeeping forces.

On Tuesday, following suggestions that a 5,000-strong British force could be sent, the Sudanese government warned it would retaliate if foreign troops were dispatched to bring the Darfur situation under control.

The US secretary of state, Colin Powell, visiting Egypt today, said urgent action was needed. "These people are in desperate need," he said. "We should give the Sudanese government time to respond, but these people don't have much time."

US officials are working with security council diplomats on a resolution calling for sanctions to be imposed should the Sudanese government fail to stop the violence in Darfur. US officials are hoping for a vote by tomorrow.

John Danforth, the US ambassador to the UN, speaking after a UN security council meeting yesterday, said: "There is a universal recognition that Darfur is a disaster, that the government of Sudan is culpable, and that action on a very tight timeframe is essential."

Sudan's UN ambassador has defended his country, and promised to work with other African nations in efforts to stop the violence.

"We are going to work with the African Union, not because there is a set of sanctions, but because we believe this is the right path," Elfatih Mohamed Ahmed Erwa said.

Mr Annan was today in Ghana, for a summit of African leaders at which the violence in Darfur and Ivory Coast's civil war were expected to be discussed.

He appealed to donors to be more generous, with assistance needed for both the situation in Darfur and for refugees from the region who have fled to camps in neighbouring Chad.

Mr Annan's office said he had sent letters to the heads of government of key European, Asian and Gulf countries asking them to "urgently increase their financial support for relief efforts" in Darfur.

"The secretary-general has been appealing to governments worldwide to contribute or increase their financial support to this appeal," UN spokeswoman Marie Okabe said. She said the UN had received only £87m of the £192m in pledges to humanitarian agencies.

The German government yesterday approved plans to provide an extra £13m, adding to £9m already pledged to support humanitarian aid efforts in Sudan.

The Dutch government also announced plans to give £66m toward reconstruction in Sudan once fighting in Darfur ends. The Netherlands, which holds the rotating EU presidency, has already promised to send three helicopters, 120 trucks and £18m in humanitarian aid to Darfur.

After two rebel groups from Darfur's African tribes took up arms for more land and resources in February 2003, pro-government Arab militia, known as Janjaweed, began a campaign of ethnic cleansing against people of African origin.

More than one million people have been driven from their homes, and an estimated 2.2 million are in urgent need of food or medical attention.

In May, the African Union mandated a 150-member military observer team to monitor a ceasefire between the Sudanese government and rebels.

So far, only 80 of the observers have been deployed to Darfur and, and earlier this month, African leaders agreed to form a 300-member protection force to guard them. The protection force, whose mandate includes protecting civilians, has not yet been deployed.

The African Union's peace and security council yesterday said it had asked the chairman of the union's executive commission "to prepare and submit to it, for consideration, a comprehensive plan on how best to enhance the effectiveness of the AU mission on the ground, including the possibility of transforming the said mission into a full-fledged peacekeeping mission."