Government offensive raises fears of attack on Darfur’s Gereida
May 2, 2006 (NAIROBI) — Observers fear the town of Gereida, which provides refuge to an estimated 90,000 displaced persons, might come under siege following a series of attacks on rebel-controlled villages in South Darfur.
“We have received unconfirmed, unilateral reports that there might be an attack on Gereida town – meaning that the town could be under fire – if we do not take immediate steps,” said Gemmo Lodesani, the United Nations deputy humanitarian coordinator in Sudan, said by telephone on Tuesday.
“Gereida was under siege before, and it is under siege even more today, he added. “If an attack occurs, the price to be paid by civilians protected at the moment in Gereida would be very, very high.”
Leaders in displaced communities said more than 300 villages around Gereida have been abandoned because of the threat of attack since November 2005. Today, according to the international nongovernmental organisation Oxfam, Gereida and the surrounding camps are home to around 90,000 displaced people, and the figure is growing every day.
According to United Nations sources, on 24 April, the Sudanese government used an Antonov plane and two helicopter gunships to attack the rebel-controlled village of Joghana, southeast of Gereida, which displaced an additional 25,000 people. Earlier, on 16 April, government forces attacked and retook the rebel-controlled town of Donkey Dreisa, 50km north of Gereida. On 21 April, Janjawid militia and government forces jointly attacked Dito town, 25km northeast of Gereida.
“If the Sudanese government continues this offensive, then Gereida is likely to be the next target,” said Peter Takirambudde, Africa director of Human Rights Watch on 25 April. “Civilians there – particularly those who share the ethnicity of the rebel groups – could be in grave danger.”
The current offensive exacerbates the already dire situation for many civilians across Darfur. “We put the figure of newly displaced over the past three months or so at 250,000 people,” Lodesani told reporters on Monday. As a result of the violence in the region, he said, the number of “households that can take care of themselves” dropped from 40 percent to 20 percent. Lodensani said all parties in Darfur were violating international human rights laws and international humanitarian law.
Interfactional skirmishes were also complicating the situation. Fighting between two factions of the rebel Sudan Liberation Army (SLA) intensified near Shangil Tobayi and Tawilla in North Darfur during the second half of April, displacing thousands. One observer said both factions used “Janjawid-style violence”, referring to notorious Arab militias used by the Sudanese government during counter-insurgency operations in Darfur. Unconfirmed reports described scenes of mass rape, beatings and summary executions.
Meanwhile, Jan Pronk, UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan’s special representative for Sudan, called on the SLA to stop attacks on humanitarian workers in Darfur. Over the past few weeks, aid workers have come under continuous attacks and harassment by armed groups in the Shangil Tobayi, Tawilla and Kutum areas of North Darfur, with several reports indicating that SLA factions were behind the attacks.
“Armed robbery and hijacking have endangered humanitarian workers assisting over 450,000 vulnerable people living in the area,” Pronk said in a statement. “Moreover, credible information points to the use of hijacked vehicles for military purposes by these armed groups. This is unacceptable and contrary to international humanitarian law.”
“Unless these attacks and harassment stop immediately, the UN and its partners will be obliged to suspend all relief assistance to this particular area till effective safety for humanitarian personnel and assets is guaranteed,” the statement said.
Lodesani said he hoped a peace deal between the rebels and the Sudanese government would reduce the tensions and bring down the level of violence. The African Union (AU), which is mediating the peace talks in the Nigerian capital, Abuja, extended the April 30 deadline of the negotiations by 48 hours after rebels expressed “reservations” about the draft comprehensive agreement and refused to sign it.
(IRIN)