South Sudan reaches donor target

After 21 years of war, southern Sudan is one of the poorest parts of the world The United States has pledged some $850m (£449) to help rebuild southern Sudan after years of war, so the donor target of $2.6bn has been passed. Other wealthy nations promised more than $2bn in aid on the first day of a donor conference in Norway.

However, Deputy Secretary of State Robert Zoellick warned that the separate conflict in Darfur should end.

United Nations chief Kofi Annan urged delegates to pledge money without strings, as the need was so serious.

He said two million people needed food in a "matter of weeks".

The target of $2bn had been set to fund the return of refugees and to build infrastructure in southern Sudan, which was neglected and destroyed by 21 years of civil war, leaving it one as of the world's poorest areas.

In addition to the $850m, the US also promised $900m depending on support from the congress.

Mr Zoellick warned that the US would not be able to fully support the deal to end war in the south if fighting continued in Darfur but that did not dilute optimism at the meeting in Norway.

"Preliminary calculations show that we have been able to cover the shortfall of $2.6bn," said Norwegian Development Minister Hilde Frafjord Johnson.

"I think that's worth an applause already," she said, triggering clapping around the conference hall in an Oslo hotel attended by 60 nations.

January's peace deal between the Muslim government and Christian and Animist rebels in the south envisaged a power-sharing government and a division of oil revenues.

The US says the Sudan government backs Arab militias accused of widespread atrocities against black African Muslim groups in the western region of Darfur.

Some 180,000 people are believed to have died from disease and hunger and more than 2m have been forced from their homes in what the US calls a genocide in Darfur.

The Sudan government denies backing the Janjaweed militias and blames Darfur's rebel groups for starting the war two years ago.

Mr Annan, the UN secretary general, urged donors to make sure they actually paid up, saying: "Pledges are good, but cash is better."

"All the people of Sudan want clean water, food for their families, schools for their children, proper healthcare, and the prospect of development," he said.

The $2.6bn demanded from foreign donors represents one-third of the total sum needed - much of the rest of the money is expected to come from revenues from Sudan's largely unexploited oil fields.

Meanwhile, the World Food Programme says some 200,000 people who have fled fighting in Darfur for Chad are in urgent need of food aid.

Chad has suspended its mediation efforts in Darfur, after accusing Sudan of trying to destabilise it with a 3,000-strong force near their common border.

Chad last year brokered a ceasefire between the government and Darfur's rebels but this has not ended attacks.