UNITED NATIONS, Feb. 18 (UPI) -- The U.N. relief chief says Sudan's conflict-ridden Darfur region is deteriorating rapidly with more than 4 million people threatened.
Undersecretary-General Jan Egeland told reporters Friday at U.N. world headquarters in New York they could be in desperate need of life-saving aid by mid-year. The head of the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said the U.N. Security Council and world at-large must act now to put a robust force on the ground and pressure on all sides.
Humanitarian aid cannot be a substitute for necessary political and security action, Egeland said.
"Our sense is that they (mediators) don't see that they are failing the people," he said. "They are failing the people whether they are on the government side or the rebel side. They do not feel the pain of the people, is our impression.
"Is the international community failing Darfur and the people there on the same scale? Well, the jury is still out on that," Egeland continued. "But if we do not see robust action now and we see a relentless increase in the suffering on the same scale, Yes, then the world will also fail the people of Darfur."
