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Khartoum - Award-winning American actress Mia Farrow was to head to Sudan's war-torn Darfur region on Sunday in her capacity as a goodwill ambassador for the United Nations Children Fund, the agency said.
Farrow, accompanied by her 18-year-old son, Ronan, is to visit camps housing some of the estimated 2,4 million people who have been displaced by fighting in Darfur that has killed up to 300 000 people over the past three years.
She would also meet Sudanese officials and aid workers "to urge that steps be taken to ensure peace and stability", Unicef said in a statement.
The actress, who visited the Sudanese region in November 2004, received a Golden Globe award for her role in Alice in 1990 and is known for her partnership with director Woody Allen.
Although fighting has eased since Farrow's last visit, the security situation remains tense, with an undermanned 7 000-troop African Union observer mission trying to enforce a ceasefire in an area the size of France.
Farrow's visit coincides with that of a joint AU-UN assessment team that is seeking to get the green light from Khartoum for a bolstered UN force to take over from the AU.
Only one faction of the two Darfur rebel groups signed a peace deal in May, and efforts are continuing to get the groups to agree to work towards peace. - Sapa-AFP
- This article was originally published on page 6 of The Mercury on June 12, 2006
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