Jebel Marra IDPs number rises 129,000 people : OCHA
March 26, 2016 (KHARTOUM) – The number of people displaced by the fighting in Darfur mountainous area of Jebel Marra has increased to 129,000 people since last January, said the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA) in a fact sheet released on Saturday.
Clashes are taking place in the massif of Jebel Marra since mid-January between the government troops and the Abdel Wahid faction of the Sudan Liberation Army (SLA/AW). Earlier this month the Sudanese army said in control of northern Jabel Marra.
But the rebels are still resisting in other sectors while Khartoum seems determined to clear the whole area from any rebel presence.
OCHA said the majority of the IDPs, , is sheltered in North Darfur state. The agency estimated their number has reached 114,000. But underscored that only 70,175 are verified IDPs.
As a result to the continued denial of access to civilians in the war affected areas in Central and South Darfur, aid workers cannot provide humanitarian assistance to the displaced civilians in these areas or to verify their number and assess their needs. However, their number is estimated at 56190 displaced.
” The UN is extremely concerned about the plight of civilians, in light of the prolonged nature of the current crisis,” said OCHA.
IDPs camps in central Darfur have received 12,000 new residents according to the government Humanitarian Aid Commission (HAC) but an inter-agency mission reported an additional 1,249 newly displaced people in Hasahisa and Hameedia camps in Zalingei.
In South Darfur, IOM estimated that 355 IDPs have reached different camps in the state. But HAC said 475 displaced people reached Kass camp while the Sudanese Red Crescent Society (SRCS) reportedly distributed essential items to 167 households in Deribat area.
(ST)