UN rushing aid to Darfur refugees who trekked to safety
June 1, 2007 (GENEVA) — The U.N. refugee agency is rushing aid to hundreds of Darfur women and children that survived a 200-kilometer (125-mile) journey to safety after their town was attacked by planes and helicopters, a spokeswoman said Friday.
The 1,500 Darfuri refugees made the grueling journey out of the conflict-ravaged Sudanese province by foot and donkey, but are struggling to feed and shelter themselves since arriving in neighboring Central African Republic, said Jennifer Pagonis of the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees.
The refugees told U.N. officials that their town of Dafak, in southern Darfur, was attacked repeatedly by janjaweed militia from May 12 to May 18 and that their homes had been bombarded, Pagonis said.
“There were more air attacks even as they were fleeing,” the Darfuris told UNHCR monitors, according to Pagonis. “Refugees said they will not return to Darfur before basic safety…can be guaranteed. Many of them expressed fear of further attacks.”
More than 200,000 people in Darfur have been killed and 2.5 million chased from their homes since fighting broke out in 2003 between ethnic African rebels and the pro-government janjaweed militia. A beleaguered, 7,000-strong African Union force has been unable to stop the fighting and neither has a peace agreement signed a year ago year between the government and one rebel group.
Pagonis said it took 10 days for the refugees of African origin, mainly women and children, to escape Darfur. She said the agency would provide them Friday with 600 rolls of plastic sheeting -enough to provide temporary shelter for 3,000 people -while other U.N. agencies arrange for food, water and sanitation supplies.
“More refugees are arriving daily” in Central African Republic, Pagonis said. The impoverished country hosts 10,000 refugees in total, mostly from Sudan, Congo and Chad. There are also more than 200,000 citizens of the country, known by its acronym CAR, uprooted within its borders.
Pagonis said there also were concerns about the CAR city of Sam-Ouandjia to which the refugees have fled. Sam-Ouandjia, in the northeast corner of the country, has been attacked twice by rebels in the last four months. The rebels are believed to have crossed from rear bases in Darfur, whose conflict has increased instability across the region where Sudan, CAR and Chad meet.
CAR has suffered decades of army revolts, coups and rebellions since it gained independence from France in 1960.
Pagonis rejected reports that rebels were entering the country mixed with the newly arrived women and children from Darfur. “The assessment team found no evidence of armed elements among the refugees,” she told reporters in Geneva, where UNHCR has its headquarters.
(AP)