Sudan's scars show from space
2004-06-25 14:05
New York - Satellite photos show that about 56 000 houses have been destroyed in nearly 400 villages in fighting in the Darfur region of western Sudan and the destruction has spread into neighboring Chad, the US aid chief said.
Andrew Natsios, administrator of the US Agency for International Development, blamed the devastation on Arab militias known as the Janjaweed, which have killed and routed local Africans and are linked to the Sudanese government.
US experts estimate that about 400 000 people once lived in the 56 000 mud brick houses with conical-shaped roofs known as tukels that were destroyed in Darfur, he said. Thousands more lived in 32 villages across the border in Chad that have been destroyed or damaged.
"There's no doubt that this is going on on a massive scale, and the Janjaweed are responsible," Natsios said.
Natsios said no one knows how many of the people who lost their homes were killed, but between 10 000 and 30 000 Sudanese are estimated to have died in the fighting which began in February 2003.
He warned that time is running out to help two million Sudanese in desperate need of aid in Darfur.
US Secretary of State Colin Powell plans to visit Darfur next week to assess the situation. So does UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan.
Asked what message he is taking to Sudanese officials, Powell said: "Let the aid flow freely. Let the humanitarian workers in. Use government forces and political influence to end the attacks."
Natsios said the latest weekly assessment of conditions in the 36 camps for displaced people in Darfur showed that security was poor and those taking refuge faced attacks or threats of attacks.
The camps aren't run by anybody, he said. "That's the problem."
Natsios said his agency's estimate that 350 000 Sudanese could die of disease and malnutrition over the next nine months "is conservative."
Deaths will increase with the spread of disease during the rainy season, which just began and peaks in November and December, he said.
The US Agency for International Development started buying commercial satellite photos of Darfur about two months ago and receives a new batch weekly to track the impact of the fighting, he said.
The images have provided the first photographic evidence of the destruction, Natsios said.
"In a functional village you see trees because villagers plant trees for shade and for fruit, and the houses will all have cone-shaped roofs made of grass. And you can see animals - goats, cows, dogs - and you'll see people walking around," he said.
In destroyed villages, he said, "you can see the walls, which means the roofs have been burned down or destroyed, and you won't see any animals, any people, or any trees because they've been all burned."
USAid released updated figures on Thursday saying satellite photos of 578 villages in the Darfur region found that 301 were destroyed, 76 damaged and 199 intact. Two were determined to be old ruins.
- AP