UN reports new displacement in West Darfur

23 July 2007 (UNITED NATIONS) — The United Nations Mission in Sudan (UNMIS) today reported new population displacements in West Darfur, where it says an estimated 12,000 households were on the move.

The newly displaced people said that they were fleeing prevailing insecurity in their areas and in anticipation of a rumored attack by Government forces, UN spokesperson Marie Okabe told reporters in New York.

The Mission also reported that over the weekend, a non-governmental organization (NGO) vehicle was carjacked in South Darfur, the latest attack on humanitarian workers in the country’s strife-torn region.

Last week, an unknown armed man shot at a vehicle in South Darfur hired by an international NGO, while in West Darfur, two men stopped an international NGO convoy comprising two vehicles carrying five staff members and robbed them of personal effects and communication equipment.

In addition, harassment of internally displaced persons (IDPs) was reported during a UN assessment visit to an IDP camp near Nyala, the provincial capital of South Darfur.

Last month, the Sudanese Government announced its acceptance of a proposal for a hybrid UN-African Union peacekeeping operation to be deployed in Darfur, where more than 200,000 people have been killed and at least 2 million others displaced since clashes erupted in 2003 between Government forces, allied Janjaweed militias and rebel groups.

(UN News)