Sudan: UN envoy visits displaced camps in South and West Darfur

The senior United Nations envoy to Sudan has concluded his three-day visit to camps for internally displaced persons (IDPs) in the troubled Darfur region, where despite increased police, vulnerable civilians reportedly remain fearful.

Jan Pronk, the Secretary-General's Special Representative for Sudan, visited IDP camps at Kalma and Kass in South Darfur and Netriti in West Darfur, UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric told reporters today.

Mr. Pronk met humanitarian workers and IDP leaders at the three camps, and also held two meetings with South Darfur's Wali, or Governor, Mr. Dujarric said.

The Governor gave Mr. Pronk details of the steps the Sudanese Government is taking across Darfur to improve security and disarm the notorious Janjaweed militias from committing further attacks against civilians.

Khartoum promised early last month, in a joint communiqué issued with the UN, to play its part to alleviate the humanitarian crisis engulfing Darfur, a region the size of France in the remote west of the country.

At least 1.2 million are IDPs in Darfur and another 200,000 live as refugees in neighbouring Chad because of the Janjaweed attacks and the fighting between Sudanese Government forces and two rebel groups.

UN humanitarian agencies say there has been an improvement at some of the more than 100 IDP camps scattered across Darfur, including Kalma and Kass, which Mr. Pronk visited this weekend.

Mr. Dujarric said the agencies have reported an increased police presence at these camps, and said the situation has stabilized as humanitarian organizations have been able to resume their work after violent scenes at Kalma camp more than a week ago.

The police presence has also been stepped up in North Darfur, with national police officers deployed around the towns of El Fasher and Malha and near the IDP camps of Abu Shouk and Zam Zam.

But Mr. Dujarric said many IDPs remain concerned about the security and safety.

In other humanitarian developments:

The UN World Health Organization (WHO), the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) and other aid agencies are preparing to move into areas of North Darfur controlled by one of the rebel groups, the Sudan Liberation Army (SLA), so they can begin mass vaccination campaigns against infectious diseases.In West Darfur, agencies are preparing water and sanitation facilities to reduce the further spread of the outbreak of hepatitis E and jaundice.The World Food Programme (WFP) announced it will begin airdrops tomorrow on Geneina, the capital of West Darfur. Deliveries by road have been hampered by heavy rains.UNICEF is airlifting 81 additional tons of emergency supplies - including high-energy biscuits, syringes and school materials - to eastern Chad to help the thousands of children living in nine large camps.