Water and food shortage threaten Darfur displaced – spokesperson

June 23, 2008 (NYALA) — Refugee spokesperson said water and food shortage threaten the Internally Displaced Persons (IPDs) camps in Darfur. He urged the international community to help displaced people with the necessary aid.

The World Food Programme had announced food cuts due to the deterioration of security conditions in the region and recurrent attack against the aid workers. While the lack of funding forced the WFP to reduce air its services.

Hussein Abu Sharati, the spokesperson of Darfur displaced and refugees told Sudan Tribune that IDPs are facing water shortage since three days due to the lack of fuel for the water pumps. “Since three days the displaced in Darfur camps have no potable water due to the lack of fuel.” He said.

Abu Sharati also spoke about the shrink of milled grains distributed to the displaced in Darfur. He said in addition to the cut planed by the UN humanitarian body, the WFP, the lack of fuel expose the camps population to a starvation

The UN agency expects to feed 1.2 million people in Darfur but since May rations of cereals, pulses and sugar have been cut by 50 percent, and the daily kilo calorie allowance per person slashed by 40 percent from 2,156 to 1,242.

The refugee spokesperson accused the Sudanese government of deliberately preventing the fuel to reach the camps. Khartoum in past tried many time to precipitate the closure of the camps in Darfur. The government backed militias attack the displaced in their camps.

(ST)