Darfur situation 'worsening'

2006-09-26 11:11

Khartoum - Rogue rebels are behind a spate of recent attacks on aid workers that has left the relief groups with less access to the suffering in Darfur than at any point in the war, says the head of humanitarian affairs for the United Nations in Sudan.

The dire assessment from aid chief Manuel Aranda Da Silva came even as 50 000 more people were estimated to have fled their homes amid a government offensive this month.

Da Silva said aid workers' access to those in need in Darfur was now worse than at any point since August 2003, the start of the conflict that had since killed more than 200 000 people and displaced 2.5 million in the vast region of western Sudan.

He said: "There have been new, huge difficulties and aid groups have had to pull out from large areas."

According to him, eleven aid workers had been killed in the last three months alone, all Sudanese nationals, and more than 25 vehicles stolen at gunpoint, mostly by rebels.

Aid groups change how they operate

Da Silva said rogue rebel chiefs resorting to looting had become the greatest danger to aid workers.

He said: "Not only do they steal cars, but we have to re-negotiate access on a near daily basis." Da Silva said humanitarian groups had been pressuring rebels to return stolen goods and to allow safe-conduct by addressing their families and tribes, who also benefited from the aid.

Because of the increased danger, aid groups were changing how they operate.

Da Silva said: "We have to reconfigure our means of assistance - becoming less present on the ground." He said that mobile assistance would rely more on helicopters, partnerships with community leaders and small units briefly stopping in villages for emergency help.

Hundreds of soldiers 'killed'

The UN said 100 000 people had been displaced by violence since May, and Da Silva said half of those fled in September, after the Sudanese army began a large offensive against rebels in North Darfur province, one of three that made up the region.

UN agencies estimated that hundreds of soldiers and rebels had been killed in the campaign. Da Silva also worried that indiscriminate air bombardments on villages hosting rebels could create more civilian casualties.

Aid groups had been unable to operate in North Darfur, meaning they could not deliver medical or food aid to some 350 000 in need there.

Da Silva said throughout Darfur, banditry was on the rise, as was violence between pro- and anti-government tribes in the south, making regions there dangerous for relief agencies.

Top UN officials had warned that the peace agreement was "in a coma" and that aid workers would had to leave if security further deteriorated.

However, da Silva said aid agencies were committed to stay on - and would pull out only if ordered to do so by the Sudanese government or if the level of violence rendered efforts useless.

- AP