Readers pledge £169,650 in race to save refugees

Money continues to pour in for The Independent's Darfur appeal. By last night, readers had pledged to donate £169,650 to help refugees from the ethnic violence in western Sudan.

Money continues to pour in for The Independent's Darfur appeal. By last night, readers had pledged to donate £169,650 to help refugees from the ethnic violence in western Sudan.

Your money will be used to help thousands who are without shelter, food and adequate sanitation after being forced from their homes and into over-crowded camps.

Jan Egeland, the UN under secretary general for humanitarian affairs, called Darfur "the biggest humanitarian drama of our time". He warned: "We are in a race against the clock. If we fail, hundreds of thousands of people will perish." As the rainy season progresses, the risk from disease gets greater and the cost of bringing food, medicine and other supplies grows.

The chief executive of the charity Concern, Tom Arnold, said: "Any future for Darfur and its people ... depends on stopping the violence, getting people back to their villages and working towards political stability. But the people living today in Darfur with minimal shelter, insufficient food and no sanitation in the camps, cannot wait for political breakthroughs. Their priority is survival."

Your money goes directly to those caught in the middle of this crisis. Please keep it coming - and thank you for giving.

Letters, page 39