Clashes displace tens of thousands in Darfur’s Jebel Marra
April 19, 2006 (NAIROBI) — At least 30,000 people have been displaced by recent fighting in the mountain ranges of Jebel Marra in central Darfur, according to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), which has recently regained access to parts of the region following a spate of violence that led to its evacuation.
“During a recent needs assessment, we found 64,000 people – about half of them recently displaced and living with the resident population – putting a strain on local resources,” Paul Conneally, ICRC communication coordinator in Sudan, said on Tuesday. “These represent only some of the victims of the armed clashes that have been occurring in the Jebel Marra since the start of the year.”
The latest clashes started when Sudan Liberation Army (SLA) rebels attacked the government-controlled town of Rokoro on 24 December 2005, then Golo on 23 January. The attacks violated a ceasefire agreement and led to counterattacks by the Sudanese military and allied militias.
As the clashes continued, humanitarian agencies were forced to pull out of the area in January. Although some assessments have been carried out since then, no aid organisation has been able to resume activities inside the Jebel Marra area. Many other areas, particularly in the north-central region, remain inaccessible to aid workers.
Throughout March, Conneally told IRIN, there had been “regular and heavy fighting, particularly involving Arab militias”. Recently, fighting again flared up around the villages of Pidon and Diya. The ICRC assessment found that people living in villages in southwestern Jebel Marra, including Kelling, Sorong and Dursa, had been cut off from any assistance for months.
However, it noted that because of a relatively good harvest in 2005 in what is regarded as one of the most fertile areas of Darfur, and thanks to the distributions carried out until mid-January 2006, the current food situation remained acceptable.
Still, many of the displaced urgently needed non-food items such as blankets, sheeting and cooking sets – particularly with the rainy season fast approaching. Already, some of them had moved deeper into the mountains and there were fears that the rain would make it harder to reach such areas. Currently, aid workers were walking or using donkeys and camels to scale the tough mountainous terrain.
“It is extremely frustrating to be present in the region but not be able to access the population in need,” Conneally said. “The problem really is the ongoing fighting and insecurity. There is too much sporadic fighting going on for people to return.”
Another source in the region said that in the whole Jebel Marra area – which is considered an SLA stronghold – there was “a return to outright hostilities with significant re-displacement”.
“People have lost their houses, their belongings and their crops,” he said. “Based on the number of villages that have been attacked, the total number of displaced could be as high as 80,000 to 100,000.”
(IRIN)