Sudan: Thousands at risk as Darfur violence restricts aid deliveries

KHARTOUM, 12 September 2008 (IRIN) - Increasing violence in the western Sudanese region of Darfur is threatening the delivery of humanitarian aid to hundreds of thousands of desperately needy people, UN officials have warned.

"Military bombardments and attacks on aid workers by armed groups have relief officials worried," said UN spokeswoman Michele Montas. "The cut in aid compromises the health and well-being of numerous towns and villages and affects up to 450,000 people."

John Holmes, the UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, called on all parties in the Darfur conflict to "ensure unimpeded access for aid workers to the millions of civilians in need across the region". The attacks were targeting towns that act as "important medical, water and commercial hubs for tens of thousands of people".

The African Union/UN Joint Chief Mediator, Djibrill Bassole, called on parties to the conflict to cease all military activities to protect civilians and create conditions for political dialogue.

Combatants opposed to the Sudanese government said the situation was deteriorating, and that there had been an upsurge in government and militia attacks aimed at retaking prospective oil fields and transport routes. The attacks, they claimed, were being conducted with armed helicopters and Antonov aircraft.

Earlier this week, the towns of Disa and Birmaza were bombarded.

"The people are suffering very much," said Ibrahim al-Hillo, a field commander of the rebel Sudan Liberation Army (SLA) faction loyal to exiled leader Abdel Wahid Mohammed Nur. "They have fled their houses, many are damaged and looted.

"They are living out in the desert or in the trees; their message to the international community is simply, they need help."

The government has rejected claims of heavy attacks or deliberately targeting displaced persons. However, the joint UN-African Union force in Darfur said reports had indicated "intense military activity was taking place".

Grim prospects

Human rights expert Sima Samar, the UN special rapporteur on Sudan, warned this week that the human rights situation in Darfur "remains grim", with "indiscriminate" bombing of civilians by Sudanese forces.

"A culture of impunity is prevalent; the state fails to investigate, punish and prosecute perpetrators of human rights violations," she said in a report to the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva.

Sudan claims 10,000 have been killed in more than five years of fighting between government and rebel forces in Darfur, but aid workers estimate the number at 300,000, with more than 2.7 million displaced.

However, as rebel forces are split into as many as 30 rival factions and splinter militias, a lasting peace deal seems even more remote, say analysts.

"There cannot be talk of peace deals when the government is attacking civilians," said Mahgoub Hussein, a UK-based spokesman for the SLA-Unity faction, dismissing efforts by the Arab League to encourage a rebel-government dialogue as "five years too late. It is just a desperate attempt to save the Sudanese president from international justice."

The government has warned that looming charges by the International Criminal Court against President Omar El-Bashir could embolden rebels to conduct further attacks.

Agencies suspend distribution

Aid workers worry the violence is squeezing efforts to support those displaced and suffering from the long war. Last month, German Agro Action suspended food distribution to 450,000 people in North Darfur because of insecurity.

This week, the UN World Food Programme (WFP) warned that it may be forced to cut deliveries if the security situation did not improve. More than 100 vehicles carrying WFP food aid have been hijacked in Darfur this year, with 43 drivers and 63 trucks still missing.

"Repeated and targeted attacks on food convoys are making it extraordinarily difficult and dangerous for us to feed hungry people," said Monika Midel, WFP's deputy representative in Sudan. "Should these attacks continue, the situation will become intolerable - to the point that we will have to suspend operations in some areas of Darfur."

September is a critical "hunger gap" month, when families struggle to feed themselves before the new harvest.

"We urge other groups who have seized trucks and drivers to release them, unharmed," Midel added. "At stake are thousands of people in Darfur, who are reliant on the food lifeline the relief truck convoys provide."

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