South Sudan passes donor target

After 21 years of war, southern Sudan is one of the poorest parts of the world

A donor conference to raise money to rebuild southern Sudan after years of war has raised almost twice its target.

Some $4.5bn (£2.38bn) was pledged, compared to the $2.6bn goal, sparking a round of applause in the hotel hall.

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

A BBC correspondent at the conference says the next task will be to ensure that donors honour their pledges.

Norwegian Development Minister Hilde Frafjord Johnson said she hoped the money would help to bring stability and peace to Sudan after 21 years of war between the government and southern rebels.

United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan said two million people needed food in a "matter of weeks".

The target of $2.6bn had been set to fund the return of refugees and to build infrastructure in southern Sudan, one of the world's poorest areas.

'Genocide'

The US pledged $850m straight away, with another $900m depending on support from congress.

But 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.

"The violence and atrocities in Darfur cast a dangerous shadow," he said.

Q&A: Peace in southern Sudan

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," Ms Johnson said.

"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 two million 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.

Oil money

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

MAJOR DONOR PLEDGES US: $850m EU: $765m UK: $545m Norway: $250m Netherlands: $220m

"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 sought 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.