Sudan’s Darfur crisis reaches “enormous proportions”: UN

KHARTOUM, May 4 (AFP) — The humanitarian crisis in the strife-hit Darfur region of western Sudan has reached “enormous proportions”, the United Nations warned here Tuesday.

“The humanitarian crisis in the Darfour region is of enormous proportions,” James Morris, executive director of the UN’s World Food Programme, said in an interview with CNN.

“Today there is more than a million internally displaced people … There are people who are either coming together in large camps or still wandering around through the hills,” he said.

“We have access to about half of those at risk, maybe a few more. Those who are in camps are easier to reach,” said Morris, whose led a high-level UN mission on a visit to Darfur last week.

He pointed out, however, an April 8 ceasefire between pro-government forces and rebels was holding, “and that means the humanitarian community has access to more people, but over time hopefully we will have access to all of them.”

The displaced want to return home, but “people have been terrorised, people are as frightened as any group of folks I have ever seen anywhere in the world”, said the WFP chief.

Several international organisations have accused Arab militias allied to the government, known as the Janjawid, of terrorising the population.

Morris expressed hope that “the Janjawid and the other people who are causing difficulties would also begin to respect the terms of the ceasefire and bring the hostility to a conclusion”.

Some 95,000 refugees have fled to neighbouring Chad, with 52,000 of them taking shelter in camps and the rest around the camps, he said.

Morris told a Khartoum press conference on Monday that he had asked the Sudanese government to accelerate efforts to address the armed militias issue and to “provide security and protection to the people.”

Sudan’s Foreign Minister Mustafa Ismail has acknowledged human rights violations in the Darfur region.

Since February 2003, Darfur has been ravaged by fighting between the government-backed militias and rebel movements. About 10,000 people have died in the violence.