UN refugee chief pledges more aid after seeing Darfur suffering first-hand
SELIAH, Sudan, Sept 27 (AFP) — UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) chief Ruud Lubbers pledged more international assistance for the hundreds of thousands of displaced in Sudan’s troubled Darfur region after touring one of the tent cities that have sprung up to accommodate them Monday.
Told by some of the women in this camp in the far west of Sudan that they remained prey to rape and other abuses by state-sponsored Arab militiamen, Lubbers promised to boost relief distribution but had little to offer immediately on security.
“If we go outside, they rape us and kill our men,” one woman told the UNHCR chief as he toured this makeshift encampment for 4,000 people, 150 kilometres (100 miles) north of the West Darfur state capital of Geneina.
Another woman, young but wizened beyond her age, chimed in: “The Arabs came here in August and stole our cattle. If they like any lady they can rape her.
“We don’t have latrines here. If we go outside, we may not come back. What we want from you is food, mats and security.”
The UNHCR head said he would seek more food, better health facilities “and I hope some education for your children”, but had little to say about security.
Human rights watchdogs say rape has been so widespread in Khartoum’s bloody 19-month-old clampdown in Darfur that it should be seen as a weapon in the goverment’s war with ethnic minority rebels.
The UN Security Council has given Khartoum an ultimatum to rein in the militias held responsible for some of the worst of the atrocities, which the US and German governments say amount to genocide against the non-Arab minorities.
Up to 50,000 people have died in the conflict so far and some 1.4 million been driven from their homes, nearly 200,000 of whom remain across the border in neighbouring Chad.
Most of the displaced in this camp were among the refugee exodus that followed the launch of the government’s clampdown early last year but returned in response to official blandishments, residents said.
Facilities in the camp are still extremely basic and another 4,000 returnees live in the town itself.
Lubbers already toured some of the refugee camps in Chad on the first leg of his tour last week.
He has been pressing Sudanese officials to grant Darfur greater autonomy to address the grievances of the minorities who complain they have been systematically marginalised by the Arab-dominated government in Khartoum.
After talks in Geneina Sunday, state governor Suleiman Abdullah Adam, lent his support. “We hope there will be more autonomy to the states. We believe this would be a solution to the problems,” he said.
Lubbers was due to hold talks in Khartoum on the final leg of his tour Tuesday to push his proposal with central government officials.