Lubbers says no more “large-scale killings” in Darfur

PARIS, France, Oct 4, 2004 (PANA) — Large-scale killings have stopped in
Sudan’s troubled western region of Darfur, Ruud Lubbers,
the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, said Monday in Geneva
at the opening of the 55th annual session of the UN agency’s
executive committee.

“Large-scale killings and the systematic destruction of the villages
have stopped now. We have finally got humanitarian access and the
UNHCR is present on the field. I have listened to the stories of the
victims and my colleagues from the other humanitarian agencies and I
have a few questions to ask: how to protect, how to rebuild lives,
and how to rehabilitate the area after passing through darkness?”
Lubbers said in a statement.

The UN official, who has just ended a mission to assess UNHCR’s
work in refugee camps in Chad and Sudan, said the international
community had waited for almost six months to realise the
seriousness of the situation in Darfur, which he described as
“enormous and tragic crisis.”

Lubbers is expected Tuesday to submit to the Geneva meeting his
findings on the mission to Darfur, where some 1.2 million people
had been displaced, with another 200,000 taking refuge in 10
camps managed by the UNHCR along the Chad-Sudan border.