BEIJING, Sept. 14 -- The UN's under-Secretary General for Humanitarian Affairs, Jan Egeland, says the situation in western Sudan's Darfur region is at a crisis point, and that a UN peacekeeping force is vital to improve the security of the troubled region. The World Food Program, the main aid organization in the area, is also complaining that the deteriorating security is putting the lives of its aid workers at risk. Li Ying has more.

    Speaking in Nairobi on Tuesday, at the end of an eight-day visit to Congo, Uganda and southern Sudan, the UN Humanitarian Chief gave a gloomy assessment of the current situation in Darfur.

    He said the insecurity is even prompting some aid agencies to consider leaving.

    Jan Egeland, UN humanitarian chief said, "And the collapse would be that those N-G-O's who are now debating on whether to leave, and are very close to leaving Darfur, if they leave it's like pulling the plug in a way, and we don't have services on the ground, and hundreds of thousands of people would have absolutely no assistance."

    The United Nations has been trying to persuade Sudan to allow the world body to take over from an African Union peacekeeping force that has been unable to curb the violence.

    The seven thousand strong force is understaffed - and short of funding.

    Its mandate expires at the end of this month.

    However, Sudan's President Omar al-Bashir has repeatedly rejected the UN proposal, and has warned that his army would fight any United Nations forces sent to Darfur.

    The UN Humanitarian Chief's assessment seems to be corroborated by accounts from the World Food Programme and other aid agencies.

    The aid group says thousands of people in Darfur have been lacking food aid for the past three months, and its aid workers have been unable to carry out their mission due to the escalating violence.

    Twelve humanitarian workers have been killed in Darfur since May.

    This is more than the total number killed since the conflict began - more than three years ago.

    Brenda Barton, WFP deputy director of communication said, "We are increasingly concerned by the lack of security for relief staff on the ground, our trucks are coming under attack, and people are being killed frequently. It is a terrible situation and a resolution must come soon."

    Nearly three million people in Darfur depend on international aid for food, shelter and medical treatment.

    But rising insecurity in many parts of the region has made it more difficult for aid workers to reach them.

(Source: CCTV.com)