South Kordofan’s IDPs “coerced” to return to unsafe areas
June 25, 2011 (KHARTOUM) – Insecurity in Sudan’s flashpoint state of South Kordofan has persisted amid reports of freshly-laid landmines and attempts by local security authorities to coerce displaced persons to return to places where their safety could be at risk.
The fighting escalated into aerial bombardment and heavy artillery amid reports on widespread atrocities and indiscriminate attacks conducted by SAF against the local Nuba population.
The UN estimates that 75,000 people fled their homes in and around the state’s capital of Kadugli. No exact death toll has been cited but reports by local and international NGOs suggest hundreds have been killed.
A UN internal report, disclosed by AP on Friday, said that local security agents impersonated aid workers and ordered refugees inside a UN-protected camp to go to a stadium for an address by the governor and for humanitarian aid. According to the report, the refugees were threatened with forced removal from the camp if they did not comply.
Meanwhile, Amnesty International (AI) said in a public statement dated 24 June that it is “alarmed” by reports that displaced persons in South Kordofan are being “coerced to return by the Sudanese authorities to places where their lives and safety could be at risk.”
The London-based rights watchdog said it had “received reports of government attempts to coerce or force displaced persons to return to areas where their lives and safety could be at risk.”
“On 20 June, local authorities entered a camp around the UN Mission in Sudan (UNMIS) compound on the outskirts of Kadugli town, and ordered the displaced seeking refuge there to return to their homes in Kadugli town or congregate either in schools or at Kadugli Stadium. Vehicles were provided by the government to transport them back,” AI also said.
“Amnesty International calls on the Government of Sudan to respect and protect these rights of all IDPs,” the statement said.
AI further reported continuation of aerial bombardments by SAF and artillery attacks by both SAF and SPLA around Kadugli and the surrounding areas.
The organisation singled out SAF as being engaged in “indiscriminate attacks, bombing from high altitudes with imprecise bombs on areas which include civilians, whereby it is effectively impossible to ensure compliance with the principle of distinction between military objectives and civilians.”
AI also voiced concern over reports of “freshly laid landmines around the town,” saying it poses a further threat to civilians returning to the area.
(ST)