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Attacks on civilians in southern Sudan by elements of the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) remain a major concern of humanitarian agencies operating in the area, the United Nations Assistance Mission in the war-torn country said today.

Up to 11,000 new refugees fleeing random banditry and violence in the Central African Republic (CAR) are in urgent need of international aid as they gather in and around camps in neighbouring Chad, the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) warned today.

A United Nations human rights expert today called on Kyrgyzstan not to return four detained Uzbeks to their homeland where torture is reported to be systematic, but to facilitate their resettlement in a third country.

With an estimated 3.3 million people left homeless by the earthquake that devastated remote areas of northern Pakistan, the logistical challenge of bringing in desperately needed aid is one of the toughest the world has ever faced, and time is running out, the head of the United Nations food agency warned today.

Without immediate help from international donors, food assistance to 130,000 Azerbaijanis displaced by the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict with Armenia could come to a complete halt in just three weeks time, the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) warned today.

Stepping up efforts to mitigate disasters such as last December’s Indian Ocean tsunami, the United Nations meteorological agency is hosting a meeting of experts to finalize plans for upgrading communications in some of the most vulnerable countries, where five minutes can make the difference between life and mass deaths.

As the United Nations works to adapt to new realities and meet new challenges, the media can play a key role by raising awareness about pressing issues and holding governments accountable, Secretary-General Kofi Annan said in a message to African editors who met in Johannesburg over the weekend.

With the aim of strengthening the commitment and accountability of the United Nations to gender equality, Secretary-General Kofi Annan has issued a comprehensive plan for reinforcing and integrating women’s issues into the world body’s peacekeeping and post-conflict operations.

Although tens of thousands of people displaced in El Salvador by a volcanic eruption and severe flooding and landslides produced by hurricane Stan have begun to return home, there is still a risk of further flooding and landslides and it is premature to consider the emergency over, the United Nations reported today.

Three United Nations peacekeepers who were injured in a road accident in the Eritrean-Ethiopian border area had to be evacuated over land in an eight-hour trip "under very precarious conditions" because Eritrea did not respond to a request to lift the ban it has imposed on UN helicopter flights.