News from Darfur, Sudan: 4/2/2007

U.N. envoy: 'Fragile' balance in Darfur could disintegrate.
ES SALLAM, Sudan (Reuters) -- The new U.N. humanitarian chief warned Sunday that humanitarian efforts in Darfur could collapse if the situation deteriorates and aid workers are prevented from doing their work.

The warning came on a day of unusually heavy condemnation of the violence in Darfur, with Prime Minister Tony Blair of Britain proposing a no-fly zone over the region and German Chancellor Angela Merkel saying the suffering of the Sudanese people had become "unbearable."

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Refugee crisis threatens to overwhelm Chad.
ABECHE, Chad (AP) -- Chadian officials expressed concern Tuesday at the growing number of refugees fleeing the conflict in neighboring Sudan, which the U.N. humanitarian chief feared could become an intolerable burden on the country.

John Holmes visited this eastern Chad town on the second leg of a 10-day trip to the region, one week after the new U.N. undersecretary general for humanitarian affairs visited Darfur and South Sudan -- part of an effort to improve the bitter conditions under which aid workers have to operate.

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Calls to use Beijing Games to pressure China on Sudan.
BEIJING, China (AP) -- China on Thursday blasted separate calls by a French politician and a Hollywood actress to use the upcoming 2008 Olympic Games to pressure Beijing into doing more to stop the crisis in Sudan's Darfur region.

In an article published in Thursday's Wall Street Journal, actress and UNICEF goodwill ambassador Mia Farrow accused Beijing of "bankrolling Darfur's genocide" and called on director Steven Spielberg and four corporate sponsors to "add their ... voices to the growing calls for Chinese action to end the slaughter..."

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Top officials: U.S. to impose Sudan sanctions soon.
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -- The United States will impose tough new measures against Sudan, likely within days, to try to force it to change course on Darfur and aims to pressure Khartoum militarily by helping rebuild forces in the south, U.S. officials said.

State Department, Defense, Treasury and other U.S. officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the goal was to "tighten the screws" on President Omar Hassan al-Bashir and have him accept an international force in the vast western province.

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Five African Union peacekeepers killed in Darfur.
KHARTOUM, Sudan (Reuters) -- Unidentified gunmen killed five African Union peacekeepers in the Darfur region of western Sudan, the deadliest single attack against the force since late 2004, an AU spokesman said Monday.

The five were guarding a water point near the Sudanese border with Chad when they came under fire Sunday, Noureddine Mezni said. Four soldiers were killed in the shooting, and the fifth died of his wounds Monday morning.

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