Sudanese authorities have ordered the arrest of an aid worker who refused to hand over medical information on which the organisation based a report on rapes in the country's troubled Darfur region, news reports said Monday. Orders for the arrest of the head of the Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) charity, Paul Foreman, have been issued, dpa quoted the British Broadcasting Corporation as reporting. The Janjaweed militias, armed by the Khartoum government to put down the rebellion in Darfur that started two years ago, have been accused of committing a wide range of atrocities, including mass rape, against civilians in Darfur, dpa reported. The MSF report, from March this year, was based on the treatment of 500 women over a period of several months in Darfur. The Sudanese authorities claim the report is based on false information, dpa reported. If found guilty, the MSF head could face three years in jail. An estimated 180,000 to 300,000 people have died as a result of the conflict in Darfur, and another 2 million have fled their homes. During the weekend, U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan visited the region to show his support for the African Union peacekeeping mission there. Last week, donors pledged close to 300 million U.S. dollars in support of the A.U. effort. The organisation plans to increase it force in Darfur from 2,300 to 7,700 by September this year. --SP 2225 Local Time 1925 GMT
