Newly-appointed French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner intends to hold talks with key nations, among them China and the United States, to discuss possible solutions to the Darfur violence – a crisis that U.N. figures say has killed 200,000 and displaced two million since 2003. Urgence Darfour President Jacky Mamou, after a Kouchner-led meeting with humanitarian experts and diplomats, said that “the goal for the coming weeks is to set up a contact group in which there would not only be Americans, British, Germans, Canadians, Chinese and Russians but also the neighboring countries, including Eritrea and Egypt.” Last year’s December attack on relief workers in Gereida – the most devastating single assault on the Darfur aid operation to date – saw the evacuation of 71 international aid workers, with only the International Committee of the Red Cross retaining foreign staff on site. Improved security in the war-torn region, however, has encouraged aid groups to gradually resume their operations. The medical organization Merlin, for example, reopened a health care clinic last week, allowing its international team of doctors and nurses to fly in and support local staff during weekly day trips. (Sources: France wants to bring China, US in talks on Darfur/Agence France-Presse; British aid group returns to chaotic Darfur camp/Reuters)
