UN mission says security situation in Darfur still tense

NEW YORK, Oct 19, 2004 (PANA) — The United Nations mission in Sudan Monday
said the security situation remains tense in the Darfur region,
while Secretary-General Kofi Annan has urged support for African
Union (AU) efforts to bolster its monitoring and protection
presence there.

The UN Advance Mission in Sudan (UNAMIS) reported incidents
including possible ceasefire violations, an attack on a village,
another on a convoy of the UN World Food Programme (WFP), militia
activities and rape cases.

Underscoring the importance of safety for the people of Darfur,
Annan said all sides must respect the ceasefire and take measures
to protect civilians, even before the arrival of AU troops.

Speaking at a press conference in London with UK foreign
secretary Jack Straw, the UN boss noted that every effort was
being made to send in the African monitors and protective force,
whose “presence will also make quite a lot of difference.”

Earlier this month, given the planned expansion of the AU’s
current 350-strong group of monitors, Annan recommended that the
AU force be given the power to protect internally displaced
persons (IDPs) and refugees, including those living in makeshift
camps.

He also asked that the AU force monitor the activities of the
local police, and disarm fighters, including the Janjaweed
militias accused of committing most of the attacks against
civilians.

With additional humanitarian workers being sent in, Annan said he
thinks the presence of “many people would also help dissuade the
attacks”.

“On the security side we need to do everything and give the
African Union the support to go in there. And we should press the
parties, the government and the rebels, to go back to the table
and discuss seriously, in the spirit of compromise, to find a
political solution.”

Annan also noted a $200 million shortfall in funding for relief
activities and voiced hope that donor countries will do
everything needed to provide resources for the UN humanitarian
effort.

Meanwhile, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said its
mobile protection teams were currently working in western Darfur
near the Chadian border to monitor internal displacement, as well
as map and assess the condition of abandoned and destroyed
villages.

Since heavy fighting broke out early last year in Darfur between
government forces and two rebel groups, some 1.65 million people
have been forced to flee their homes, with about 300,000 of them
crossing into neighbouring Chad.

In a separate development, the UN agency and the Sudanese
government’s Committee on Refugees have finalised plans to
register Chadian refugees in Darfur for their eventual return
home, UNHCR spokesman Ron Redmond told journalists in Geneva.

The Chadian refugees have been in Darfur for many years, escaping
severe drought and potential famine in 1984, as well as border
clashes between Chadian and Libyan forces.

“But now, having been caught up in the trauma of the recent
violence in the region, they want to return home,” he said.