May 30, 2007 (POTSDAM, Germany) — The Group of Eight most industrialised nations are prepared to consider a French proposal to create "humanitarian corridors" in Darfur, Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner said on Wednesday.

"It’s a risky attempt. Our friends here have accepted this risk and we will try to do likewise," Kouchner told journalists after a meeting with his G8 counterparts in Potsdam near Berlin.

Kouchner, the maverick Socialist drafted into the cabinet following the election of conservative Nicolas Sarkozy as president, has said Darfur will be a priority of his time in office.

He added that the G8 was also prepared to consider the idea of a "contact group" for Darfur.

The four-year conflict in western Sudan has left more than 200,000 people dead and forced more than two million people from their homes, according to the United Nations. Sudan disputes those estimates, saying 9,000 people have died.

France is proposing the creation of a humanitarian corridor through neighbouring Chad or the Central African Republic to allow aid to be transported safely to civilians.

"This is in no way a military operation," Kouchner said. "It is something the United Nations must do."

France already has about 1,000 soldiers as well as helicopters and military hardware in Chad, a former French colony.

Italian Foreign Minister Massimo D’Alema, who also attended the Potsdam meeting, said the G8 ministers were "largely in favour" of the French proposal.

The United States, which describes the situation in Darfur as "genocide," this week unveiled new sanctions againt the Sudanese government.

Wednesday’s meeting was aimed at preparing a summit of G8 leaders taking place in Heiligendamm in northern Germany on June 6-8.

The leaders of Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia and the United States will attend.

(AFP)