UN appeals for $30 Million to help Sudan refugees
GENEVA, April 2, 2004 (AP) — The U.N. is seeking $30 million to help tens of thousands of people who have fled to Chad from fighting in Sudan ‘s western Darfur region.
Elizabeth Byrs, spokeswoman for the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, said Friday that the money is needed urgently to help some 110,000 people along the border between the two north African countries as well as in refugee camps deeper inside Chad.
Ron Redmond, spokesman for the U.N. high commissioner for refugees, said his agency has so far moved more than 20,000 Sudanese away from the border to five camps. UNHCR, which is trucking 1,000 people a day away from the volatile frontier region, is deeply concerned about rising rates of malnutrition and disease among those who remain, he said.
Warning of a looming humanitarian catastrophe, aid agencies also are seeking access to Darfur to help the almost 700,000 people who have fled their homes but remain inside Sudan .
The conflict began in February 2003, when two rebel groups – the Sudan Liberation Movement and the Justice and Equality Movement – took up arms to gain a share power and wealth in Africa’s largest country. Hundreds have been killed.
The conflict has deep roots, said Daniel Augstburger, the U.N. aid coordinator for Darfur. Arab herders and the region’s Muslims of African descent, mainly farmers, have long clashed over land use but the disputes previously have been solved by community leaders, he said.
However, fighting in Darfur has intensified in recent months, with campaigners accusing Sudan ‘s government of human rights violations as its forces try to suppress the insurgency.
U.N. officials claim Arab militias armed and paid by the Sudanese government are carrying out a campaign of “ethnic cleansing” in the region, killing, raping and forcing civilians from their homes.
The Sudanese government has repeatedly denied its forces are intentionally attacking civilians.
The U.N. human rights watchdog agency is planning to send an investigation team to meet with refugees in Chad, said Jose Diaz, spokesman for the U.N. high commissioner for human rights. It also has requested a visit to Darfur but hasn’t had a formal reply from the Sudanese government, he said.
Peace talks between the government and Darfur rebels last year faltered, and the latest round of indirect negotiations got off to a rocky start this week with the rebels and government disagreeing over the agenda for the talks.
The insurgency in Darfur has intensified as peace talks between the Sudanese government and southern rebels fighting in a separate 21-year-long civil war have inched toward their conclusion. Those talks are being held in Kenya.