UN steps up efforts for humanitarian response in Abyei

May 18, 2008 (KHARTOUM) — The UN mission in Sudan is intensifying its efforts to response to the humanitarian need of thousands of displaced who fled they home in the disputed Abyei area following recent clashes.

“Many thousands of those people have been repeatedly displaced and have just come back home this year to be forced to flee again at a time when they were planning to till their land for the next planting season,” Ms. Ameerah Haq, the Deputy Special Representative of the UN Secretary General to Sudan, said today.

Ms. Haq, who also serves as the UN Humanitarian Coordinator in Sudan, said UN assessment teams are currently surveying the needs, especially medical care, water, food, and shelter.

The UN dispatched on Saturday a team to Abyei to assess the emergency humanitarian response for thousands of people displaced following last week fighting between the Sudan Armed Forces and the SPLA.

The extent of the destruction in the town of Abyei is not clear and the UN had previously evacuated all civilian staff.

The exact number of those displaced from Abyei area is not yet determined but the UNMIS said is in the range of 30,000 to 50,000 people.

The fact that the rainy season has started brings additional threats of malaria and other diseases for the vulnerable displaced population, especially children.

(ST)