The European Union pledged ¤51 million in humanitarian aid for Sudan on Sunday to help avert a "major food crisis" brewing in the troubled Darfur region due to continuing hostilities. Newly appointed EU Commissioner Louis Michel announced the aid in the Sudanese capital of Khartoum after touring Darfur, in the west of the country. In a statement released in Brussels, he also called for "all armed groups" to stop attacking civilians and "allow aid workers to do their difficult and vital job as safely as possible." "It is high time that the many promises of peace made so far are respected, once and for all," he said.
