By John Acher and Wojciech Moskwa
OSLO (Reuters) - Donor nations pledged a preliminary $4.8billion (2.46 billion pounds) in assistance to Sudan onWednesday to bolster a fragile 2005 north-south peace inAfrica's biggest country that is still torn by violence in itswestern Darfur province.
Sudan had said it needed $6.1 billion up to 2011, on top of$2 billion in humanitarian aid.
A deadly aerial bombing in Darfur three days ago cast ashadow over the Oslo conference and some delegates said it madecountries reluctant to pledge openly before a satisfactoryexplanation.
"This conference is a big success," Luka Biong Deng,minister for presidential affairs for semi-autonomous southSudan told Reuters. "The international community confirmed itis firm on bringing peace to Sudan, sustaining the peace andgiving a peace dividend to its people."
The funds will be split between humanitarian efforts andlonger-term development aid favoured by Sudan as it seeks tokeep its people behind the 2005 comprehensive peace agreement(CPA), which ended the longest civil war in Africa.
"The implementation of the CPA is more critical than ever.The CPA will benefit not only the Sudanese, it will have rippleeffects throughout the region," said senior World Bank officialHartwig Schafer after announcing the pledged total.
Diplomats at the conference condemned Sunday's governmentbombing attack on a school and marketplace in Darfur, whichkilled 12 including six children.
International experts estimate 200,000 have died and 2.5million have been driven from their homes in five years ofrevolt in Darfur. Sudan puts the death toll at about 10,000.
"The international community cannot make peace in Sudan,"said Aid Minister Erik Solheim of host nation Norway whichpledged $500 million. "Peace must be home-grown, and then wecan give support in many ways."
DARFUR LOOMS LARGE
"The extent to which these funds can be used fordevelopment will depend crucially on resolution of the Darfurcrisis," said Dave Fish, head of the British delegation whichpledged $650 million, second only to the United States' $1.6billion.
Washington also aims to spend nearly $2 billion onpeacekeeping in Sudan this year and next, a U.S. diplomat said.
Sudanese officials said the bombing highlighted the fluidsecurity situation and the need to push through the CPA, whichincludes plans to hold elections in 2009.
"Stability and peace is indivisible," Sudan's VicePresident Ali Osman Taha told the conference.
"The need for a comprehensive ceasefire cannot be moreemphasised than by the bombardment that took place a few daysago," Taha said.
Ashraf Qazi, special representative of the U.N. SecretaryGeneral for Sudan, said: "(This) has indeed been a success.While CPA implementation has fallen behind schedule, the factis that it remains on track and your contribution will help."
Katherine Almquist of Washington's aid arm USAid urgedSudan to push ahead with its election law and ensure thatDarfur was included in the ballot to give it a nationalcharacter.
"We strongly hope this will move forward with all duehaste," she said. Sudan officials vowed that the ballot wouldbe held and an election law sent to the national assembly"soon".
(Editing by Matthew Jones)
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