UN team arrives in Sudan’s troubled Darfur region

UNITED NATIONS, Feb 18 (AFP) — A UN team has arrived in the main cities of Sudan’s troubled western Darfur region to look at humanitarian needs in the area, United Nations officials said.

They said the 13-person team would assess aid requirements in the cities of Nyala, Al-Geneina and Al-Fashir as UN agencies work to deliver and pre-position food, water and medical supplies for around 250,000 displaced people.

“This assistance is long overdue,” said the UN’s emergency relief coordinator, Jan Egeland. “However, we are still not reaching the majority of those in need.”

Darfur is believed to be home to six million people and covers around one-fifth of the territory of Sudan, the largest country in Africa.

The Sudan Liberation Movement (SLM) has dismissed President Omar al-Beshir’s claim to have crushed the rebellion it launched one year ago over charges that the government was neglecting the impoverished region.

Some 3,000 people have been killed and another 670,000 displaced within Sudan by the conflict. Another 100,000 are estimated to have fled across the border into Chad because of the uprising.

“The security situation outside the three capital towns throughout Darfur is of particular concern,” the UN office for the coordination of humanitarian affairs said in a statement.

“The Darfur region of Sudan remains highly volatile for civilians and the humanitarian community,” it said.