Sudan - Hundreds of thousands have been driven from their homes a senior UN official has urged the world to pressure the Sudan government and rebels into ending human rights abuses in the western Darfur region.
UN emergency relief co-ordinator Jan Egeland said the organisation was getting daily reports of atrocities but was unable to help those affected.
He accused the government in Khartoum of tolerating "ethnic cleansing" by Arab militias.
"We must put pressure on the parties," he told the Security Council on Friday.
Hundreds of thousands of civilians have been displaced in the fighting, with more than 100,000 fleeing across the border into neighbouring Chad.
Fighting in Darfur broke out more than a year ago, when rebels attacked government targets, saying black Africans were being oppressed in favour of Arabs. Mr Egeland described it as one of the world`s worst humanitarian crises.
Thousands of people had been killed in the region and there were reports of mass rape by the Arab militias.
He said it appeared to be an organised campaign of ethnic cleansing, with villages looted and burnt down and food and seed supplies destroyed in a "scorched earth" policy.
"I`ve had colleagues from my office seeing in desperation people being killed, gang-raped, abused and not being able to do anything to help," he said.
He warned that there was a possibility of mass starvation and said a new UN appeal would need $115 million, with an added $30 million to care for refugees.
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