AL-FASHER, Sudan (AP) – The International Committee of the Red Cross said Tuesday it was mounting a major airlift of relief supplies to Sudan’s troubled Darfur region, its largest such operation since the war in Iraq.
Meanwhile, Sudan’s interior minister said a cease-fire with rebel factions in Darfur was violated twice on the opening day of peace talks that aim to bring an end to the crisis.
The United Nations terms Darfur the world’s worst humanitarian crisis. More than 30,000 people have been killed and 1.4 million forced to flee their homes in the 18 months of fighting between African rebel groups and Arab militia known as the Janjaweed.
Interior Minister Abdel-Rahim Hussein said Monday’s attacks by Sudanese Liberation Army fighters, which left several police injured, did not bode well for peace talks in Abuja, Nigeria, which opened the same day. But he insisted the government remains committed to the peace process.