Marie Fakhouri, said up to 200,000 refugees had already returned south from neighbouring countries since the beginning of 2004. The government estimates about 400,000 people, who fled to other parts of Africa's largest country, have also returned to their homes in the south. Chamberlin, a former U.S. diplomat, said the needs of about 2 million displaced southerners living in Khartoum's slums would be assessed and met in their villages if they chose to return. When asked if there was a danger funds may get diverted from Sudan to cope with the devastation wreaked by the Asian tsunami, Chamberlin said: "Yes there is ... the focus has been tsunami," she said. The massive earthquake and flood left some 300,000 people dead or missing when it hit a number of South East Asian countries in December. --SP 1836 Local Time 1536 GMT
