Australia sends more aid to Sudan
The Australian Government has announced it will donate an additional $20 million in aid to the troubled Darfur region of Sudan. Accurate death tolls are hard to come by, but between two hundred and four thousand people have been killed in the region since 2003, in fighting between the ethnic Arab militia the Janjaweed, and a variety of rebel groups including the Sudan Liberation Movement and the Justice and Equality Movement. Foreign Minister Alexander Downer said on Sunday that the money is going to help provide food and health care for the estimated three million displaced people in the country. This latest donation brings Australia’s total contribution to more than $82 million since early 2004. Although the Darfuri community in Australia welcomes the donation, they feel more pressure on the Sudanese Government is needed from Australia and the international community.