UN agencies report mixed progress in access to the needy in Darfur

UN agencies report progress on improving access for humanitarian organisations to civilians in the violence-hit Darfur region of western Sudan, but note that local authorities are still demanding travel permits in some areas. Concern also persisted over security in dozens of internally displaced persons (IDP) camps in the region following reports that women were being subjected to gang rapes, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said on Monday. UN News quoted UN spokeswoman Marie Okabe as telling reporters in New York that the Sudanese government had lifted visa restrictions and made it easier to transport humanitarian supplies and equipment, as promised under a joint communiqué signed with the UN nine days ago. She noted, however, that local authorities in Northern and Western Darfur were continuing to require aid workers from the UN and NGOs to obtain travel permits for their areas. Okabe called on the Sudanese government to station more of police near IDP camps to prevent women who venture out of the camps in search of firewood from being raped. Moreover, she said, despite Khartoum's encouragement, the IDPs, who were mainly indigenous Africans, remained reluctant to voluntarily return to their home villages without guaranteed protection from attacks by the largely Arab Janjawid militia. UN agencies have estimated that more than a million people were internally displaced in Darfur by deadly attacks by the Janjawid and fighting between militias allied to the government, Sudanese government forces and two rebel groups. Another 170,000 people have fled to neighbouring Chad. UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan, who recently visited Darfur, said the situation there "bordered on ethnic cleansing". Senior UN officials have described it as "the world's worst humanitarian crisis".