The new United Nations humanitarian chief has warned of the "crying need" for political action to bring peace to
In a report to the UN security council, John Holmes said 2.2 million people had fled their homes in Darfur, and the number of displaced civilians has risen dramatically in
Holmes said it was time for politicians and concerned leaders to stop playing "protracted games with each other, with little or no thought to the lives and livelihoods of hundreds of thousands of their fellow citizens, whom the international community meanwhile keeps alive".
The UN emergency relief co-ordinator warned that despite 13,000 aid workers now operating in the region the poor security situation was putting efforts to help the population at risk.
"Despite its scale and success in sustaining millions and saving literally hundreds of thousands of lives, the Darfur humanitarian operation is increasingly fragile," Holmes said after returning from a tour of
"If things do not get better, or if there were more serious incidents involving humanitarian workers, some organisations could start to withdraw and the operation could start to unravel.
"Then we could face a rapid humanitarian catastrophe ... We must do everything in our power to avoid it."
When Jan Egeland, Holmes' predecessor, first warned the Security Council of the humanitarian crisis in
Aid workers 'abused'
Holmes told the Security Council that aid workers had been "physically and verbally abused, offices and residences raided and personal belongings stolen."
He blamed both government forces and rebels for the violations of international law and widespread human rights abuses.
At least 200,000 people have died since the
The conflict broke out when rebels from minority tribes took up arms to demand an equal share of national resources. This prompted a heavy-handed crackdown by
Holmes said that more than 250,000 people had fled to displaced persons' camps in the last six months and more than half of the population could be living in them within 18 months.
"Meanwhile, politicisation and militarisation of camps have become a fact of life, creating a future time bomb just waiting to go off," he warned.
The former British ambassador to
"The spillover effect from Darfur is clear, not least in eastern
He also called for better protection of the