U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan on Monday warned that U.N. aid to Darfur could be suspended after the "completely unacceptable" hostage-taking of African Union monitors by rebel dissidents in Sudan's western region. In Sudan, an AU spokesman said Darfur rebels had released 36 African Union monitors kidnapped on Sunday, but were still holding two more. The AU had blamed a breakaway faction of the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) for the kidnappings but the faction denied the accusations. Annan, asked whether the incident might lead to a temporary suspension of U.N. aid, told a news conference in Geneva: "Both rebels and government must understand that, if these incidents continue, it will impede humanitarian assistance and delivery. "It's already impeding access to some of the people in need and it may require a cessation of operations in some parts of the territory," he added. He said it was Sudan's duty to protect both aid workers and AU peacekeepers on its territory, even if it was rebels who were responsible for the hostage-taking. "A firm stand must be taken by the government," he was quoted as saying by Reuters.
