People displaced by fighting flee towards Darfur

The “great majority” of those fleeing increased fighting in Western Bahr al-Ghazal are headed in two lines towards the Darfur region, and are reported to be from one tribal group, the Fertit, according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) in the Sudanese capital, Khartoum. Following an offensive by the Sudan People’s Liberation Army (SPLA) in Bahr al-Ghazal and its capture of the towns of Daym Zubayr and Raga, there had been an exodus of civilians north and northwestwards into areas still controlled by the government, the agency reported on 10 June. One group was heading directly north in the direction of Al-Duwaym, some 350 km away, and the other north-northwest towards Nyala, located about 400 km from Raga, it said. Reports indicated that over 30,000 people could be on the move, most of them on foot, it added.

Over 10,000 of the displaced had concentrated around the village of Timsahah, 144 km north of Raga, where the resident population was just a few thousand in normal times, OCHA reported. The condition of the displaced people there was deteriorating rapidly, and aid workers hoped that relief supplies would reach them within days, it said. The WFP and UNICEF were moving quickly to identify what food, water, shelter and health supplies could be provided immediately, but the imminent onset of the rainy season would cause difficulties as there was no airstrip in the region and heavy rains would make the roads impassable, the report added. An emergency response team - to include the WFP, UNICEF, local and international NGOs, and donors - had been established to coordinate interventions to mitigate the looming humanitarian crisis in Western Bahr al-Ghazal and Southern Darfur, OCHA added.