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20 000 trapped in Darfur
03/03/2008 17:38 - (SA)
Khartoum - An estimated 20 000 people are trapped in a remote area of western Darfur where rebels battling the Sudanese army have denied access to aid workers, a top UN official said on Monday.
Ameerah Haq, the humanitarian coordinator in Sudan said around 20 000 people were in the Jebel Moon area in a part of Darfur devastated by recent fighting between government forces and rebels from the Justice and Equality Movement.
"This morning we were supposed to have an assessment to go there but we were actually denied access by JEM and therefore we are calling on JEM to give us that access," she told the BBC in an interview.
Asked whether they were trapped, Haq said: "Yes, in a sense they are."
"We are worried about whether they have sufficient (supplies), particularly food. They took refuge there but now we have no contact with them... so I think it's urgent, as I said to get that access to people quickly in Jebel Moon."
Haq, the most senior UN humanitarian official based in Sudan, voiced concern about the civilians' fate because of the build-up of government troops in the mountainous area.
"We've had reports of many convoys and other movements of troops to that area... We're worried and concerned about what will happen in Jebel Moon because of the movement of troops there," she said.
"Innocent populations are getting it from all sides, from JEM and the government."
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