Military

19 April 2005

No Improvement in Darfur Security, U.N. Report Says

Report cites increased attacks on international aid workers in Sudan

By Judy Aita
Washington File United Nations Correspondent

United Nations -- The security situation in the Darfur region of Sudan did not improve in March and was marked by increased attacks against international personnel, according to a U.N. report released April 18.

In his monthly report to the Security Council, U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan said he is "troubled by the rash of attacks during March on international personnel operating in Darfur.  Three incidents stand out because of the apparent intent to do harm to, or kill, those who have come to help the people of the Sudan."

The secretary-general said that on March 8 suspected Jingaweit fighters fired on African Union Mission in the Sudan (AMIS) troops guarding a military observer campsite in northern Darfur.  On March 22, two employees of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) were seriously injured during an apparent ambush on their convoy of clearly marked vehicles on a road in southern Darfur.  On March 29, an AMIS patrol was fired upon, in what appears to be an ambush, while investigating a report of fighting near Nyala in southern Darfur.  One observer was shot and two others suffered injuries from flying glass when a bullet shattered a window.

Concern that international personnel in Darfur might be under increasing threat resulted in the relocation of U.N. staff from western Darfur to Geneina March 10-19, he said.

Khartoum "continues to pursue the military option on the ground with little apparent regard for the commitments it has entered into," Annan also reported.

Even though the government has arrested some individuals alleged to have committed war crimes in Darfur, he said, "Reports continue to be received that government forces operate jointly with armed tribal militias or, at the least, both operate in the same area at the same time."

Protection of civilians is still a major concern, according to the secretary-general.  Attacks on civilians in villages and on roads, torture, sexual violence and abductions continued during the month, he added.

"Security in and around camps for internally displaced persons remained unstable, with cases of harassment of civilians by armed militias, particularly of women and girls who ventured out of the camps," Annan said.

(The Washington File is a product of the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)