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Sudan blocks U.N. force

Sudan: Urgent planning for the deployment of a large-scale U.N. peacekeeping force in Darfur is being blocked by Sudan and there will be a minimum six-months delay before the force arrives in the country, U.N. officials said on Wednesday. The hold-up comes amid escalating concern about the plight of three million people in Darfur who depend on international aid to survive. The world food programme has cut food rations in half due to a shortfall in donor funds. Access to aid continues to be hampered by insecurity, including attacks on relief workers. ``There is a vast amount to be done and no time to lose,'' U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan, told the Security Council on Tuesday night while urging a rapid U.N. deployment in Darfur. ``Without massive and immediate support, the humanitarian agencies will be unable to continue their work, which means that hundreds of thousands more will die from hunger, malnutrition and disease.'' Mr. Annan said Darfur was potentially the council's biggest test since the 1994 genocide in Rwanda. —

© Guardian Newspapers Limited 2006

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