Six aid groups warn of worsening Darfur crisis
Jan 28, 2007 (KHARTOUM) — Six western aid agencies warned that the humanitarian situation in Darfur is approaching crisis point and urged leaders to take action before it is “too late.”
The warning was issued as heads of state were gathering in Addis Adaba for an African Union summit set to be overshadowed by another row over Sudan’s bid to become president of the 53-member organisation.
“Enormous humanitarian response in Darfur will soon be paralysed unless African and global leaders at the AU Summit take urgent action to end rising violence against civilians and aid workers,” said the joint communique.
The statement was signed by Action Against Hunger, CARE International, Oxfam International, Norwegian Refugee Council, World Vision and Save the Children.
It said African heads of state and UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon will fail the people of Darfur if they do not take concrete steps to herald the start of a new chapter in the region and ensure that an immediate ceasefire is both agreed and enforced.
The agencies said aid workers are facing violence on a scale not seen before in Darfur, leaving access to people in need “at the conflict’s lowest point at a time when the humanitarian need is greater than ever.”
Attacks on civilians are again rising and forcing even more people to flee their homes, and a breakdown of the aid response will leave civilians in greater danger, the communique said.
If the situation is not addressed immediately, “hundreds of thousands of lives will be put in danger along with a total breakdown of the entire humanitarian response.”
They reported that fresh fighting in January has left more than 350 people dead and forced tens of thousands from their homes.
The Darfur region has become “increasingly lawless” due to the numerous rebel movements and lack of accountability, it said, noting that the aid workers have become a target of this widespread violence.
It said aid “staff were raped, beaten and subjected to mock executions” during an attack one month ago on the world’s largest camp for internally displaced people in Gereida, South Darfur, which hosts about 130,000 IDPs.
The statement added that it is still far too dangerous for agencies to return to the Gereida camp.
The aid agencies blamed the international community for not providing AU troops with the funds, equipment and support they need, noting, however, that the AU “can — and must — do more with the resources already at its disposal.”
Khartoum reluctantly agreed last year to hold off on its ambitions to chair the African Union for 12 months amid an outcry over the situation in Darfur where a 7,000-strong AU force has struggled to check the bloodshed which has already claimed more than 200,000 lives.
Despite repeated warnings over the deepening humanitarian crisis, Sudan has vowed it is still intent on taking up the post.
(AFP)