Sudan: humanitarian crisis in Darfur deteriorating, UN agencies say

The already dire humanitarian situation in the Darfur region of western Sudan has worsened, United Nations agencies said today, with thousands of internally displaced people now facing water shortages and outbreaks of communicable diseases such as measles.

In an update issued today, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said attacks against civilians are reported to be occurring daily and across the whole of the region.

An estimated 750,000 Sudanese have become internally displaced since fighting erupted early last year between the Sudanese Government, allied militias and rebel groups. Another 110,000 people have fled west across the border into neighbouring Chad.

According to OCHA, there have been indiscriminate killings of civilians, gang rapes, looting of private property and humanitarian aid, burning of villages, abductions, forced migration and general intimidation.

The UN agencies said the attacks have forced internally displaced people to congregate in larger or more urban areas, increasing the chance of disease outbreaks and using up scarce water supplies. OCHA said there have been reports of 30 measles cases in one location.

The ability of UN agencies, such as the World Food Programme (WFP), the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF), the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and World Health Organization (WHO), to give humanitarian aid in Darfur is limited because of the poor security there, OCHA said.