 |
|
UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs |
SUDAN: Escalating violence displaces 25,000 in North Darfur
NAIROBI, 1 Aug 2006 (IRIN) - Violent clashes between Sudanese government forces, allied militias and rebel groups have displaced 25,000 civilians in North Darfur State, United Nations officials said on Tuesday.
"Over the past three weeks, we estimate that more than 25,000 people have been displaced in North Darfur, 18,000 of whom have newly arrived in various IDP [internally displaced persons] camps," Turid Laegreid, head of the sub-office of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) for North Darfur, told IRIN.
"Access to the local population in North Darfur is at an all-time low," she warned. The areas out of bounds to aid workers were increasing, she added, while there were large areas where access was restricted.
Regions most affected by recent insecurity include the area south of Tawilla and Korma, southwest of the capital El Fasher, as well as the areas north of El Fasher - Kafod, Kulkul and Mallit - and the vast expanse northwest of Kutum.
"We have seen increased attacks against civilians - including the killing of civilians. They are mostly beaten, forced to leave their villages, and then cannot move freely, even while they flee," Laegreid said.
The situation in Darfur has deteriorated since the signing of the Darfur Peace Agreement (DPA) between the Sudanese government and the largest of the three main rebel factions, the Sudan Liberation Movement/Army (SLM/A) under the command of Zaghawa leader Minni Minnawi, said a political analyst, who declined to be named.
"The main factor causing the insecurity is that the parties who signed the peace agreement use it as a shield to continue to wage war on the non-signatories; creating factionalism, fighting over territory, and increased attacks against civilians," he said.
Abdelwahid Mohamed al-Nur, the leader of another faction of the SLM/A with a predominantly Fur following, and Khalil Ibrahim, leader of the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM), refused to sign the DPA, claiming it was unacceptable as it did not fulfil their key demands.
"Inside the camps, insecurity has increased as well," the analyst observed. "Tensions between the Fur and the Zaghawa have increased due to the manipulation of both ethnic groups by the fighting parties."
In a joint statement on Tuesday, the Special Representative of the Chairperson of the African Union Commission in the Sudan, Ambassador Baba Gana Kingibe, and the Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for Sudan, Jan Pronk, expressed their "utmost concern" about an attack launched on Saturday "by the government forces, supported by armed militia, on a rebel group non-signatory to the Darfur Peace Agreement, in the area of Kulkul".
Fighting near Kulkul had erupted earlier last Wednesday between the National Redemption Front (NRF) - a non-signatory rebel coalition including the JEM but excluding al-Nur's SLM/A - and Minnawi's faction and again on Friday, between the NRF and the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF).
"The Special Representatives are particularly concerned about allegations that an SAF Antonov [plane] bombed Hassan village, south of Kulkul," the joint statement read. "If they are confirmed, they would constitute a violation of the United Security Council Resolution 1591 (2005)."
According to the statement, the fighting led to the displacement of an unknown number of villagers from the area, including from villages not directly affected by the conflict, who fled to El Fasher and the surrounding IDP camps.
Earlier in July, attacks by Minnawi's rebel faction on villages under al-Nur's control, south of Tawilla and Korma, had resulted in mass displacement, the analyst said. He added that there were "consistent reports" of civilian killings - with Delil village reportedly the gravest case - as well as "credible reports of rapes".
The town of Korma was practically vacated, he added, and the market looted and destroyed. "This year's planting season will be lost for most original residents of the greater Korma area," he observed.
Kingibe and Pronk urged all the parties to "cease attacks and refrain from provoking attacks", stressing that a military solution to the ongoing conflict "was not an option".
Meanwhile, Marie Okabe, deputy spokesperson for the UN Secretary-General, told reporters in New York on Monday that in West Darfur State, a convoy of 29 trucks belonging to the UN World Food Programme had been ambushed by six armed men on Saturday as it was returning to its base in the state capital, El Geneina, after distributing food in the district around Habila. No injuries were reported.
Also on Monday, the international NGO Tearfund confirmed that a Sudanese driver for its relief team working in West Darfur had been killed on Thursday, when two Tearfund vehicles were attacked during civil unrest.
ds/mw/eo
[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
|
NEWSLETTER
|
| Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list |
|
|
|
