Strife drives more Sudanese in Darfur from their homes, UN reports

Ethnic fighting across Sudan’s western Darfur provinces has swelled the number of internally displaced people (IDPs) by thousands, but several roads in the Jabal Marra mountain range that were closed to United Nations humanitarian vehicles can now be used, the UN Mission in Sudan (UNMIS) said today.

A number of roads in the Jabal Marra area were declared “go” areas for UN agencies on 22 December, UNMIS said, adding that since early last year UN agencies had access only to Gilgo, Golo, Turrah and Rokerro by air, limiting the amount of support the UN agencies could give to the non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in the region.

UNMIS said intertribal fighting place in the Zalenjei area of West Darfur has resulted in approximately 3,800 new arrivals to two Zalenjei camps, with another 5,000 to 6,000 displaced reportedly stranded northwest of the conflict area.

Humanitarian workers and representatives of the African Union (AU) have been unable to go to the Zalenjei area because of continuing insecurity, the mission said.

Meanwhile, more than 18 months of fighting between the Rezeigat Arab nomads and the Birgid people have led to the displacement of an estimated 36,000 Birgids to Edaein and to the Kalma Camp in Nyala, South Darfur, UNMIS said.

Aiming to help ease the suffering, the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and its partners plan to build new schools and train teachers in Kalma.

In another development, UNMIS reported that local authorities in South Darfur told the mission that the international community is neglecting the humanitarian needs of Arab nomadic communities, branding them as ‘Janjaweed.’ Janjaweed means “men riding horses” but has come to be associated with the marauding bandits who attacked civilians in Darfur.

Based on interviews, UNICEF issued a report in September saying the Janjaweed Arab militia's sexual and other assaults on the people of Darfur had resulted not only in physical injuries, but a range of psychological traumas, including suicidal impulses and nightmares.