Clashes lead to more displacement in Darfur

NAIROBI, Sep 7, 2004 (IRIN) — A number of internally displaced persons (IDPs) have sought refuge in a camp near El Fasher, administrative capital of North Darfur State in western Sudan, following clashes between government troops and rebels, the United Nations reported.

The IDPs had been living in villages in various parts of the state,
according to the UN, which said in a humanitarian update on Sunday that
the new arrivals in Zamzam Camp were reported to be in serious need of
shelter and food.

According to the report, the clashes between the Sudanese armed forces and
the Sudan Liberation Army (SLA) were reported in various locations
including the Tawila – Kebkabiya road in North Darfur and Sayah, north of
El Fasher, as well as in South Darfur.

The UN added that attacks and robberies by Arab militias also continued to
be reported, including an attack on 3 September against Ishma, an
SLA-controlled village southeast of Kalma camp in South Darfur.

Meanwhile, the UN World Food Programme (WFP) reported on Tuesday that it
delivered food for nearly one million people in Darfur in August, but that
that amount fell short of its target of 1.2 million people.

In another development, the Sudan Council of Churches has expressed
concern that the pace of peace talks in the Kenyan town of Naivasha aimed
at ending war in southern Sudan had slowed down.

The church leaders said in a statement released after a meeting in
Khartoum that the two sides had not met since their last session was
adjourned in July. They added: “apparently the parties are no longer
experiencing the sustained pressure from the international community […]
due to the new and equally devastating conflict that emerged in Western
Sudan, the Darfur region early last year”.

On 26 May, Khartoum and the rebel Sudan People’s Liberation Movement/Army
signed three protocols on major stumbling blocks to a peace agreement,
including power-sharing and areas contested by Khartoum and the rebels.
They adjourned the negotiations in July, but no date has been set for a
resumption of the talks.

The two sides still need to agree on a comprehensive peace agreement, a
permanent ceasefire and the modalities for implementing the former,
including regional and international guarantees.