Focus still on IDPs in ED Daein

Humanitarian concerns in Sudan are currently focused keenly on the situation in and around Western Bahr al-Ghazal and Southern Darfur, following the displacement of thousands of people who fled fighting associated with a military offensive by the Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA) in May/June, UNOCHA reported in its newly released humanitarian update for June. The main current problem was that of over 8,100 internally displaced people (IDPs) in Ed Daein (al-Duwaym), Southern Darfur, most of whom were accommodated in a single school with minimal facilities, it said. An alternative location for temporary settlement of these displaced people needed to be agreed upon, and resources such as shelter, water, sanitation and essential drugs were urgently required, it added. OCHA also expressed concern about the unknown humanitarian needs of up to 15,000 IDPs (a government estimate) reportedly taking refuge in forests from the fighting in Western Bahr al-Ghazal, with small quantities of food.

Continued insecurity in northern and western Bahr al-Ghazal was "seriously undermining people's ability to cope during the hunger gap", and, along with the arrival of rains, had hampered air and road deliveries of humanitarian assistance, UNOCHA reported. Insecurity in northern Bahr al-Ghazal led to WFP imposing a temporary flight restriction in locations west of the railway line during parts of June, while UN security considerations had restricted flights to five areas covering 50,000 people targeted for food assistance, OCHA reported. "In some areas, communities are expected to walk for as long as seven hours to access food," it said. Humanitarian response capacity was likely to be hampered during this "hunger gap" period, especially in light of additional flight denials to locations in Bahr al-Ghazal, including most areas of Raga County, it added. The Operation Lifeline Sudan (OLS) emergency response team for Bahr al-Ghazal has been reactivated, and an assessment of humanitarian needs in Raga County (which is not being accessed by the humanitarian community, except for Awada) is planned as soon as access is granted.