The relief agency Concern has warned of a deteriorating situation in the Sudanese region of Darfur, which is causing some difficulty for relief staff there.
This afternoon, Overseas Director for Concern, Paul O'Brien, said that he had accounted for all his staff at El Genina after violence broke out and a military helicopter crashed nearby.
Mr O'Brien said that while there was no immediate danger to aid workers, Concern was monitoring the situation and the increased level of tension and activity in the region.
Earlier, the UN special envoy to Sudan, Jan Pronk, welcomed an announcement by the African Union that its first contingent of peacekeepers is to be deployed in the troubled region of Darfur this weekend.
A battalion of Rwandan soldiers is due in the area tomorrow, the AU’s chairman and the President of Nigeria, Olusegun Obasanjo, confirmed today.
A total of 4,500 troops are expected to be in place by the end of November.
However, Mr Pronk warned that a much larger force would be needed to end the violence in Darfur.
On Friday, the World Health Organisation said that 70,000 Darfur refugees have died of disease and malnutrition in refugee camps since March. Previous UN estimates put the toll at 50,000.
