BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The European Union on Thursday condemned renewed and escalating violence in western Darfur and urged Sudan to refrain from any actions affecting the civilian population and humanitarian work.
Sudan said it attacked three remote west Darfur towns lastweek to force the Darfur rebel Justice and Equality Movementout of the area. After the offensive another 12,000 Darfurisjoined the 240,000 refugees already in camps in eastern Chad.
In a statement, EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana saidthe action had caused a further deterioration in an alreadycritical humanitarian situation.
"The High Representative urges the government of Sudan torefrain from any action affecting the civilian population andpreventing the humanitarian operations," it said.
Solana said the situation emphasised the need for theearliest possible deployment of a European peacekeeping forcein eastern Chad. He said this should reach initial operationalcapability by mid-March.
The European Union resumed the deployment of the EUFORforce on Tuesday after suspending it at the start of the monthduring a rebel assault on the capital of the central Africanstate.
EUFOR has a United Nations mandate to protect over half amillion refugees and civilians who have fled violence spillingover from Sudan's war-torn Darfur region.
(Reporting by David Brunnstrom; editing by Richard Meares)
