UN humanitarian chief Jan Egeland said on Wednesday that donations for tsunami-hit countries have surged to nearly 4 billion US dollars, and urged warring parties in Indonesia's Aceh area, Sri Lanka and Somalia to cease hostilities in a longer term to allow relief operations. 

"We are recording pledges of between three and four billion dollars which shows that indeed the world is coming together in a manner we have never ever seen before," Egeland told reporters in
New York.

He described as "phenomenal" the pledges made by Germany and Australia to significantly increase their donations. Germany announced on Wednesday it would grant 674 million dollars for tsunami-stricken nations and Australia said it would allocate 764 million dollars.

Egeland believed that the extensive media coverage of the tidal wave disaster is "the driving force" behind the rarely-seen enthusiasm of the international donor community.

"It's what we see at our TV screens which is the driving force," he explained.

He thanked the around 50 countries and financial institutions for their contributions and called on them to maintain their commitment to help tsunami survivors in a longer term. "Thank you for being with us now, be with us in a long haul," he urged.

Egeland also warned donors not to reduce their donations for UNemergency humanitarian operations in other parts of the world, such as Sudan's Darfur and the Democratic Republic of Congo, because of their promises for the tsunami relief effort.

Meanwhile, he called on Indonesia and other tsunami-affected countries to keep free access for relief workers to areas ravaged by the tsunami. Indonesia's Aceh, where separatists have fought for an independent state, had been off-limits to foreigners before the natural disaster.

"Not to have access to some areas before the tsunami has certainly hampered our ability to be present there now," he said. "We have a message for the parties to the conflicts: suspend your conflicts and work together with us to help your own people."

"If new conflicts break out, we cannot help," he warned.

He hoped that the unprecedented show of compassion and solidarity after the tsunami would help bring a lasting peace to Aceh, Somalia and Sri Lanka's Tamil rebels-held region.

The UN official also praised the United States and Britain for providing C-17 cargo planes and Singapore for contributing heavy-lifting helicopters.

He said currently there are roughly 100 helicopters being used in the relief operation, half of them from the United States, and Washington has promised to supply more. 

The Dec. 26 tsunami has claimed the lives of nearly 150,000 people. UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan and leaders from Asia and donor countries will gather in the Indonesian capital of Jakarta Thursday to discuss ways of coping with its aftermath.

(Xinhua News Agency January 6, 2005)