No hope for quick reestablishment of security in Darfur: UNHCR

NDJAMENA, Aug 13 (AFP) — Security in the conflict-ridden Darfur region of western Sudan remains tenuous and will not return to normal in the weeks to come, an official with the UN High Commissioner for Refugees said Friday.

“The conditions for a return to security in Sudan are not yet in place,” Jean Marie Fakhouri, director of the UNHCR’s operation in Sudan, said.

He told a news conference he was “doubtful” that it would be possible to establish security by August 30 — a deadline set by the UN Security Council to rein in marauding government-supported militias.

Two weeks ago, the United Nations Security Council called on Khartoum to stop the atrocities in Darfur, which have claimed the lives of up to 50,000 people and displaced more than one million, by the end of the month or face possible sanctions.

Fakhouri arrived in the Chadian capital Thursday from visiting refugee camps along the country’s eastern border with Sudan. More than 150,000 Sudanese have fled there from the violence in Darfur, and are living in often squalid conditions.

“I saw a tragic situation on the ground which affects more than one million people. There is enormous work to do in order to deal with it all,” he said.

“The Sudanese government must reestablish security in the villages” and do everything it can so that the people traumatized by the months of violence can once again gain confidence in their future,” he added.