Floods and poor security hamper aid attempts in Darfur

By Victoria Engstrand-Neacsu

KHARTOUM/NAIROBI, July 30, 2004 (dpa) — Poor security, fuel shortages and heavy rains in the vast region of Darfur in western Sudan are hampering aid deliveries to hundreds of thousands of displaced people there, aid agencies say.

U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan has reminded the international community not to forget the humanitarian suffering which is very much a reality in Darfur, although media coverage has recently focused on the political side of the conflict.

The U.N. has received less than half of the 349 million U.S. dollars it asked donors for in March.

“We need more food and money to buy sorghum within Sudan, as soon as possible or many more lives will be lost,” said Ramiro Lopes da Silva of the World Food Programme in Sudan

WFP said this week it is preparing for food drops in Darfur, while also off-loading all-terrain trucks in Port Sudan on the Red Sea coast. The trucks will carry food across Sudan to the western region of Darfur, a 2,600-kilometre, three-week trip through deserts and flooded riverbeds.

“But it’s still far from enough to reach everyone in need,” said Lopes da Silva.

WFP has warned that the rains not only slow down aid efforts, but that dirty drinking water combined with poor sanitation will increase the risk of water-borne diseases like typhoid, cholera and dysentery.

“The risk for cholera outbreaks in the camps is tremendous,” Adrian Macintyre from British charity Oxfam told Deutsche Presse Agentur, dpa on the phone from El-Fasher in northern Darfur.

Macintyre said some camps in southern Darfur were already flooded, and as human and animal waste and animal carcasses started floating around the camps, which often lack proper waste systems, the risk of disease outbreaks increases fast.

“The situation there is precarious. We are very concerned,” said Macintyre, adding the floods sometimes make it impossible to reach the camps.

Malaria is also a danger, as Mosquitos breed in the puddles created by flood water.

“We expect the situation to deteriorate in the next few months, as this is just beginning of the rainy season,” said Macintyre.

The U.S. aid agency (USAID) said the government of Sudan has imposed rigorous registration procedures for health workers wanting to go to Darfur, thereby hampering efforts to prevent and respond to the expected disease outbreaks.

Poor security on roads is another problem. U.N. reports say trucks travelling through northern Darfur are often harassed by uniformed groups who demand payment or loot relief cargo and fuel.

United States Ambassador to the U.N., John Danforth said hundreds of people die in Darfur every day because of the passiveness of the international community.

Danforth asked Security Council governments to support a resolution to slap sanctions on Khartoum unless it disarms the feared Janjaweed militia within 30 days.

“There is a universal recognition that Darfur is a disaster, that the government of Sudan is culpable and that action on a very tight timeframe is essential,” said Danforth after a U.N. Security Council meeting late Wednesday.

But seven Security Council members, Pakistan, China, Russia, Algeria, Angola, the Philippines and Brazil, want a softer resolution without the mention of sanctions.

A vote on the resolution is expected before the end of the week.

The African Union said this week it is considering transforming its military observer mission in Darfur into a fully fledged peacekeeping force, unless Khartoum disarms the Arab militias spreading terror in the region.

Meanwhile, a report from the Observers said villagers in Darfur had been chained together and burnt alive earlier this month by a group believed to be the Janjaweed.

At least one million people have fled their homes in Darfur since the conflict began over a year ago. The U.N. estimates 2.2 million people are in urgent need of food and/or medical attention. Up to 50,000 people are believed to have died as a result of the war.

West African leaders and U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan were due to discuss the situation in Darfur during a two-day summit in Ghana, which kicked off Wednesday.