UN agency alarmed by humanitarian situation in Kordofan and Darfur
May 19, 2013 (KHARTOUM) – The United Nations has expressed its concern over the continued fleeing of civilians in South Kordofan state because of the fighting between the Sudanese Armed forces (SAF) and the rebel armed groups.
A report issued on Sunday by the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) mentioned that the UN doesn’t have presence in the areas controlled by the rebel Sudanese People’s Liberation Movement in South Kordofan.
Sudanese government banned the access of aid groups to the rebel held areas in South Kordofan as well as the establishment of camps for the displaced civilians.
“The UN is concerned about the continued reports of fighting which lead to injuries, deaths and displacement among civilians”, said the report.
The report further pointed that 45.000 people in North Kordofan state have been displaced in the recent weeks.
Last month, the Sudan Revolutionary Front (SRF) rebels swept through Umm Rawaba in North Kordofan state in an attack that took the Sudanese government by surprise.
The report further said that 60.000 people have been displaced from areas of Muhajiriya and Labado in east Darfur.
It mentioned that an unidentified armed group killed 4 people on May 9 in the town of Bangoul and looted 3000 head of cattle, adding that a convoy of United Nations-African Mission in Darfur (UNAMID) is waiting for the government approval to access the area of Labado.
Darfur has been a flashpoint for lawlessness, violence, and displacement since rebel movements took up arms against the Khartoum government in 2003.
The agency underlined the UN is still waiting for the government and the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement/North (SPLM-N) approval to halt military operations in the states of South Kordofan and the Blue Nile for a week to allow vaccinating thousands of children, warning that lack of vaccination constitutes a serious setback for Sudan’s efforts as well as the global efforts to fight and eradicate the new wild polio virus.
(ST)