Sudanese militias attack aid workers to starve Darfuri – rebel chief
June 27, 2008 (PARIS) — Attacks by Khartoum militias against humanitarian convoys and aid workers mean to starve the displaced people and the refugees and kill them, a Darfur rebel chief said today.
Attacks on World Food Programme food convoys have forced a cut in rations to millions in Darfur by almost half since May. They have plenty of food in the warehouses but massively deteriorated security, banditry, hijackings and kidnappings makes it simply too dangerous to deliver.
The UN WFP expects to feed 1.2 million displaced 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.
Abdel-Wahdi al-Nur, a chief of a Sudan Liberation Movement faction said Sudanese government changed its tactic to achieve “its criminal policy of ethnic cleansing” against Darfur people.
He further added that Khartoum militia instead of killing and rapping the displaced in Darfur camps now direct the Janjaweed militia to attack the humanitarian personnel and confiscate their tools of work to force them to leave the region.
Al-Nur regretted that the aid organisations reduced their coverage of the affected areas in Darfur and the quantity of the distributed rations. He further warned that cases of child malnutrition reappear in the region.
He also underlined that international community was mistaken when it conferred the protection of the humanitarian activities to the Sudanese government.
The rebel chief further said the hybrid peacekeeping mission had to in charge with this vital humanitarian issue.
He further underlined that the hunger gap from June – October, due to cut off roads by rains, would be more severe than previous years.
Ted Chaiban, head of the U.N. children’s agency UNICEF said with malnutrition rates already high, August and September, traditionally bad months for hunger, could see a massive hike in the numbers of malnourished Darfuris. On reduced rations, Darfuris will be more vulnerable to disease.
Last August, the acute malnutrition rate in Darfur amongst under fives was 16.1 percent, above the emergency threshold of 15 percent.
(ST)