Straw wins human rights pledge

Jack Straw today won a pledge from Sudan that human rights groups will get access to refugees fleeing to camps in Darfur.

The Foreign Secretary was given the assurance during talks in the capital Khartoum before flying to see Abu Shouk camp, sheltering 57,000 families forced from their homes by violent Arab militias.

The camp is one of the best equipped, with feeding and water centres, but the refugees suffer disease and malnutrition.

"I am keen to see for myself the situation on the ground in Darfur," Mr Straw said before his three-hour visit to the camp.

He met officials in Khartoum yesterday and will return tonight for talks with Sudan's president, Lt-Gen Umar Hassan Ahmad al-Bashir.