Red Cross steps up presence in Darfur ahead of summer rains

July 6, 2007 (GENEVA) — The international Red Cross said on Friday it is stepping up its humanitarian operations in the strife-torn Sudanese region of Darfur ahead of expected heavy rains later in the month.

Some 40,000 people have fled the city of Tawila in the north of Darfur following repeated clashes between rebels and government-backed forces, and are now based in three camps for displaced persons, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said in a statement.

“Owing to the prevailing insecurity, most of the humanitarian organisations that had been providing much-needed basic assistance to people living in the camps have left the area,” it said.

“The ICRC has therefore taken it upon itself to meet short-term medical and sanitation needs in the camps and to monitor respect for the lives and property of displaced persons,” it added.

In addition, the ICRC said it is completing a large humanitarian operation to deliver aid to rural areas before the rainy season reaches its peak in July, with around 830 tonnes of aid distributed so far to villages in north, south and west Darfur.

It also sees to the needs of over 100,000 people in the Gereida camp for displaced persons in the south of the region.

The United Nations estimates that some 200,000 people have been killed in Darfur in four years of fighting between rebel groups, the Sudanese government and Janjaweed Arab militia. A further two million people are estimated to have fled their homes.

(AFP)