WASHINGTON, Feb. 27 (UPI) -- U.S. National Intelligence Director Vice Adm. John McConnell Tuesday called Darfur, Sudan, "the world's fastest-growing humanitarian crisis."
More than 200,000 people have died, 1.85 million residents lost their homes and another 234,000 Sudanese have fled to neighboring Chad, McConnell told the Senate Armed Forces Committee in Washington.
The Sudanese military is attacking civilian villages suspected of harboring various rebel groups that refuse to abide by the existing peace agreement, he said.
"Chadian and Central African Republic rebel groups have also become entangled in the Darfur crisis," he said. "The spillover of violence in the past 10 months threatens to destabilize an already weak regime in both of those countries."
Somalia is teetering on the brink of crisis with al-Qaida exploiting unrest between multiple factions fighting for an equal balance of power, he said.
"If the transfederal government is to be successful in winning the support of the population and restoring order, it will need to be more inclusive and make some successful strides toward governance," he said.
If the turmoil fails to diminish, Somalia could find itself again under extremist rule, he warned.
