UN mission in Sudan reports continued insecurity in troubled Darfur region

Staff of United Nations agencies and international non-governmental organizations (NGOs) continue to face harassment, threats and ambushes in western Sudan’s Darfur region, where farmland, crops and water supplies are being deliberately destroyed, the UN Mission in the country (UNMIS) reported today.

In West Darfur, Arab militias attacked the town of Congo Harasa on Tuesday and destroyed all the wells that humanitarian workers had constructed for a needy population, according to UNMIS.

“The UN condemns these attacks that target the very livelihood of the people,” a mission spokesman told a press briefing in Khartoum.

Meanwhile, the UN World Health Organization (WHO) said that by yesterday it had registered 565 cases of yellow fever in Southern Kordofan, including about 150 deaths. WHO noted that the number of reported cases has declined, but could not determine whether this was due to the prevention and control measures undertaken by aid agencies and the Sudanese Government or underreporting.

The vaccination campaign supported by WHO and UNICEF in the Southern Kordofan town of Kadugli reached nearly 78,000 people, or about 80 per cent of the target population, by Sunday. In rural areas, the drive started slowly because of difficulties associated with transporting vaccines, which have to be kept refrigerated.

In another development, the UN Mine Action Service said it has received only 40 per cent of the projected 2005 budget for Sudan, where a 21-year civil war with the south ended in January. Despite budget concerns, the Service has destroyed over 174,000 pieces of unexploded ordnance (UXO), including 522 anti-tank and 695 anti-personnel mines.