Thousands flee in Darfur Jebel Marra – Red Cross

September 16, 2007 (KHARTYOUM, Sudan) — Thousands of villagers in Darfur’s Jebel Marra are fleeing for the safety of refugee camps amid violence or difficult economic situation, the Red Cross said today.

Many of these IDPs had already been displaced several times since the conflict began in 2003, moved to Dom Jong, Fujo, Fatma Karal, Kutrum, Kwila, Boldong, Kati and Kurifal in remote areas of Western Jebel Marra between June and August, the Red Cross said in its news bulletin distributed today.

The Red Cross indicated that many of these IDPs fled there to escape the fighting or out of fear of attack; others were forced to move by their deteriorating economic situation or their increasing isolation and lack of access to services in remote places.”

Also, rebel sources in Jebel Marra told Sudan Tribune that recent floods have cut off many villages and made thousands homeless. They said that even displaced people were forced flee because water attacked their vulnerable shelters.

This population movement affects the already fragile situation of residents and formerly displaced people in the region. To assist the most vulnerable, the ICRC distributed essential household items such as tarpaulins, blankets, buckets and jerrycans to 1,500 households (approximately 9,000 people) in Dom Jong, Golol, Talga and Kutrum settlements in West Darfur.

A health team supplied Golol clinic with additional furniture and extra drugs such as antimalarials, antibiotics, painkillers, anaemia and deworming tablets to cope with the health needs of the displaced and residents. Over 2,000 medical consultations were held at the clinic in recent weeks.

(ST)