Annan decries “massive disruption”

United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan said on 6 July that he was “deeply concerned” over the effects of continued fighting on the civilian population of Bahr al-Ghazal, adding that recent military offensives had aggravated food shortages in the region. Annan said military attacks in the state had caused “massive disruption” at a time when farming communities would normally have been fully engaged in planting for the next harvest season. “Many thousands of civilians have fled into government-controlled areas”, he said, adding that there were now “real fears” of severe food shortages in a region that once enjoyed a food surplus. Spokesman for the Secretary-General Manoel de Almeida e Silva said in a statement: “The Secretary-General much regrets that, once again in the Sudan, it is the civilian population which is bearing the brunt of armed conflict, and reiterates the need for the parties to resolve their differences by peaceful means.”

The Famine Early Warning System (FEWS) said in its June report for southern Sudan that tens of thousands of people in Bahr al-Ghazal were faced with rising malnutrition following heavy fighting between government and rebel forces. The USAID-funded FEWS added that the insecurity had seriously undermined “the population’s resilience and ability to cope during the hunger period”.