The United Nations, which has said that Darfur is suffering "the greatest humanitarian disaster in the world", estimates that about 180,000 people have lost their lives in the two-year conflict in the war-torn region.

A further two million people have been forced to escape their homes, mostly black Africans, who accuse pro-government militias of committing atrocities.

The Sudanese government denies backing the Janjaweed militias, and blames the rebels for starting the conflict.

Some analysts say that the signing of the Darfur Peace Agreement (DPA) has led to a more complex situation instead of ending the violence.

Only one of the main rebel groups signed the peace accord, but two other groups refused and began to fight government forces, the militias and other rebels to gain advantage before peace prevails.

Caught in the middle are civilians — particularly women and children — as well as UN aid officials.

Last week, the UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan said that despite some progress in the implementation of the DPA, some deadlines for implementing the agreement's key aspects weren't met and several rebel groups are still reluctant to sign the deal.

"Both DPA signatories have violated the ceasefire arrangements, while non-signatories have violated pre-existing ceasefire obligations," he said.

Annan also said the prospects for international aid operations were bleak, adding that the African Union indicated that it cannot afford to keep its peacekeeping force in Darfur until its mission expires at the end of September.

However, many officials say that the African Mission in Sudan (AMIS) is idle, arguing that it doesn't investigate ceasefire violations and cannot protect the refugees.

Annan also voiced concern over the possibility of allowing the UN take over from the African Mission in Sudan (AMIS) because the Sudanese government opposes a UN mission in Darfur.

"While the Government maintains its firm opposition to this plan, the situation on the ground is deteriorating," he said.

"Harrowing month"

The UN chief also described July as a "harrowing month" for relief workers in the war-torn region, saying that there were 36 attacks on aid operations last month alone.

"As a result of the fighting and direct targeting of humanitarians, only 50 percent of civilians affected by the conflict can be reached by humanitarian organizations," Annan said.

The Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, Jan Egeland, also said that the humanitarian situation in Darfur was going from really bad to catastrophic.

He said that violent clashes in Darfur increased by more than 100% in the first half of 2006 compared to the first half of last year.

"Nine humanitarian workers were killed in Darfur in the past weeks, which was the worst ever since the conflict in the region began in 2003," he said. 

 Source:Islamonline.com