Darfur translators in pay strike

Interpreters translate for Darfur's non-Arabic-speaking refugees

Interpreters working for African Union (AU) troops in the troubled Sudanese region of Darfur have gone on strike over unpaid wages.

Some 150 Sudanese interpreters who translate between AU troops and non-Arabic-speaking refugees say they have not been paid for three months.

But an AU official said they had been paid in January.

Nurredin Mezzni said the African Union was facing financial difficulties and other staff were also affected.

In a letter to Darfur's Labour Affairs Department, the interpreters also requested a danger allowance and improved pay conditions.

The refugees need to be translated from their local dialects into Arabic, Sudan's official language.

AU peacekeepers have a mandate to remain in Darfur until June 2007.

Sudan's government and the pro-government Arab militias are accused of war crimes against the region's black African population, although the UN has stopped short of calling it genocide.

But the current force has failed to halt attacks on civilians which has led to some two million people living in camps.