THE Final Hour Appeal has topped six figures. Islanders have so far given £100,547 for over a million people suffering in the Dafur region of Sudan.

The appeal, backed by the Guernsey Press and Island FM, asked employees to donate the last hour of August’s pay.

It was the brainchild of Richard Searle and money is still rolling in.

‘It’s remarkable. The response has been tremendous,’ he said.

‘I think it’s more than any of us realistically expected and I’d like to thank the people of Guernsey for this result.’

Some people have also made

individual donations and Guernsey Press editor Richard Digard was absolutely delighted with the efforts.

‘It’s amazing and to break the

six-figure barrier is a real achievement,’ he said.

Island FM managing director Gary Burgess also welcomed islanders’ fund-raising.

‘I knew we’d get a good result from the start and what’s come in really affirms what we all believed about the generosity of local people.’

Money raised by the Final Hour Appeal is paid into the Bailiff’s fund and then passed on to the Disasters Emergency Committee which is backing the UK charity response in the region.

The Bailiff’s Disaster Relief Fund has already sent £40,000 to the DEC and the same amount again will be sent on Monday.

Another £18,000 is set to be paid into the fund.

The Bush administration has declared that genocide was being committed in the Dafur and may still be happening.

The Janjaweed militia, controlled by the Sudanese government, has been accused of killing 50,000 people and forcing more than one million from their homes.

The United States’ stance carries important legal and moral obligations under the Geneva convention.

It orders signatories to ‘prevent and punish’ acts of genocide.

America is also pushing for a new UN resolution that threatens Sudan with sanctions and calls for more African Union monitors to go into the western region.

A vote on the resolution could take place next week.