Farrow: Case reveals Darfuri plight

The case of Gillian Gibbons highlights the brutal temperament of the Sudanese government, according to UN ambassador and former actress, Mia Farrow.

Ms Farrow was speaking of the Gibbons case in relation to the crisis in western Sudan, routinely described as the worst humanitarian disaster facing the planet.

Reportedly aided by the Sudanese government, the Janjaweed Arab militia are said to execute vicious attacks on the black African population of Darfur, in a conflict which has been escalating since 2003.

While the government publicly condemns the attacks, it is widely accepted that they are encouraging the violence by providing financial and logistical support to the militia.

One of Gordon Brown's first priorities as prime minister was to secure the formation of a joint UN/AU peacekeeping force, due to enter Sudan from 2008.

But the Sudanese government is said to be forcibly trying to resist international intervention and delay the force's arrival.

Last night, Ms Farrow said the case of schoolteacher Gillian Gibbons - imprisoned in Sudan for allowing her class to call a mascot by the same name as the prophet Muhammad - reflected the "brutality and insanity" of the Sudanese authority.

Speaking in her role as UN goodwill ambassador, Ms Farrow told the BBC's Newsnight programme that the international community had to do more to resolve the conflict.

She said: "This underlines the brutality and insanity of this regime and we mustn't forget the countless women in Darfur who are not free to leave.

"It is a very clever regime. They did this, they appeared to be making some concession while they are putting obstacles in front of a much more key and larger issue, which is the force to go in, the peacekeeping force, the UN/AU hybrid.

"President Omar al-Bashir has placed every conceivable obstacle in the way of a successful deployment of the force."

While focusing her criticism centrally on Mr al-Bashir, she also called on the international alliance to provide vital money and equipment, such as helicopters, to assist the deployment process.