Agreement Reached on Darfur Peacekeepers

U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan opens the Fifth African Development Forum in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa, Thursday, Nov 16 2006. Annan opens a critical international meeting in Ethiopia on Thursday to discuss the increasingly desperate situation in Darfur and push again for U.N. peacekeepers to replace the beleaguered African force in Sudan's troubled western region.(AP Photo/Guy Calaf) (Guy Calaf - AP)

Benn called the joint U.N.-AU focus on Sudan "the best opportunity we have to bring this crisis to an end. In the mean time, we need an effective cease-fire, with all the parties committing to stop the fighting."

In recent days, pro-government militia forces known as janjaweed have stepped up attacks on villages in Darfur, killing dozens of people, international observers said Wednesday. In one raid, janjaweed militiamen _ backed by government troops _ forced children into a thatched hut, then set it ablaze, killing parents who tried to rescue the children, rebels said.

After years of low-level clashes over water and land in the vast, arid Darfur region, rebels from ethnic African tribes took up arms against Sudan's Arab-dominated central government in 2003. Khartoum is accused of unleashing the janjaweed. The militiamen are accused of many of the atrocities in a conflict that has killed some 200,000 people and chased 2.5 million from their homes.

The conflict has destabilized a wide region that includes parts of neighboring Chad and the Central African Republic. The chaos has been exploited by rebels from Sudan, Chad and the Central African Republic, and ethnic violence mirroring attacks in Darfur has been seen in Chad in recent weeks.

The Sudanese army has denied any connection to janjaweed attacks, saying the claims were politically motivated.

The U.N. humanitarian chief, who was visiting Darfur, said he had been told by people made homeless by the conflict that the withdrawal of non-governmental organizations from some areas had left them with fewer services and more exposure to violence.

"This is my fourth visit to Darfur, and I have never before seen such a bad security situation," Jan Egeland said from El Geneina, capital of West Darfur, according to a statement. "There are too many armed elements in and around the camps threatening the inhabitants and preventing us from going in."

"Aid workers in West Darfur cannot move on the roads because they are being attacked and their vehicles are being stolen," Egeland said.

Human Rights Watch has called for a major increase in the Darfur peacekeeping force to stop the growing number of attacks on civilians.

The New York-based advocacy group said it has documented renewed aerial bombing of civilians both in Darfur and inside neighboring Chad since late October.

The aid agency Doctors Without Borders, or Medecins Sans Frontieres, also reported that thousands of people have fled their homes and refugee camps in Darfur. The agency said it was increasingly difficult to provide aid to the victims because of the violence.