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UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs 17 May 2006

SUDAN: Insecurity affecting humanitarian work in Darfur - ICRC

NAIROBI, 17 May 2006 (IRIN) - Armed clashes and banditry in the western Sudanese region of Darfur have affected humanitarian work and created numerous security problems for civilians, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) warned on Wednesday.

"Cars are being stopped, stuff looted, and certain areas are not accessible because of such incidents," said Andrea Koenig, ICRC spokeswoman in Khartoum. "And it is not only the ICRC that is affected, but many other humanitarian agencies."

Recent clashes had occurred around Tawilla in Jebel Marra area of North Darfur as well as in Shearia and around Gereida in South Darfur, Koenig said. There was also rising tension along the border with Chad. The fighting had limited freedom of movement, affected access to fields for planting and prevented traders from reaching the markets.

In the past few weeks, some 5,000 civilians had left their homes for camps in Gereida.

On Wednesday, the medical charity Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) said it had treated 46 people who were injured during the latest clashes in the town of Labado, South Darfur. The patients included 30 civilians, including two women and four elderly men. Many of the wounded required urgent surgery, having sustained gunshot wounds in the abdomen, shoulders, arms, legs and chests. Two died as a result of their injuries.

The patients told MSF a number of people were killed during the attack. "The attack on Labado is another example of the insecurity that continues to plague civilians in Darfur," the charity said.

"The MSF team in Muhajariya [120 km northeast of the South Darfur capital of Nyala]) has had a steady influx of casualties over the last weeks, having admitted 127 patients with violent trauma in the past month alone," MSF said. "The 35-bed hospital is currently overflowing."

[ENDS]

This material comes to you via IRIN, a UN humanitarian information unit, but may not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations or its agencies. If you re-print, copy, archive or re-post this item, please retain this credit and disclaimer. Quotations or extracts should include attribution to the original sources. All materials copyright © UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs 2006