LONDON — Western relief agencies are using a reconnaissance satellite to locate and aid refugees in the war-torn Sudanese province of Darfour.

The European Space Agency has been helping relief agencies in the effort to locate the estimated 1.45 million displaced people in Darfour, an area the size of France.

An ESA-supported consortium called Respond supplies satellite-aided imagery and maps to such users as the United Nations, German Red Cross and the German federal disaster relief agency Technisches Hilfswerk, Middle East Newsline reported.

Officials said the Respond team has employed 10 sensors from nine separate spacecraft. They said this included instruments on ESA's Envisat satellite, which delivers images in near real-time. The satellite contains advanced synthetic aperture radar [ASAR] and a medium-resolution imaging spectrometer.

"Envisat's ASAR identifies roads well, shows land relief and is sensitive to the presence of water," said Kader Fellah of Strasbourg-based firm Sertit, which provides Respond's rapid-mapping capacity. "Backed up with optical data from satellites such as Spot-5 we could use ASAR data to show which roads were most likely to still be passable. Our rapid mapping service means that map products are produced within 12 hours of satellite image acquisition."

Officials said this was the first time satellite imagery has been used in relief efforts in Sudan. Western relief organizations have used satellite imagery in Kosovo in 1999.

The relief agencies in Darfour have been supplied with topographic and thematic maps. Officials said high resolution optical imagery from France's Spot-5 as well as radar data from Envisat and Radarsat helped produce the maps.

High-resolution satellite imagery was used for camp and urban clinic mapping around Fasher, the capital of northern Darfour. In February 2004, Respond was established as an operational service to supply earth observation-based geo-information products in support of humanitarian operations worldwide.