Darfur humanitarian crisis could worsen dramatically, UN warns

The humanitarian crisis in Darfur, western Sudan, will worsen dramatically unless the security situation there improves immediately and relief workers can reach needy people in the region more easily, the United Nations has warned. UN World Food Programme Executive Director James Morris, who led a high-level UN team to assess the situation in Darfur, said displaced families were living in difficult and unacceptable conditions and continued to fear for their lives. "I visited Mornei [Western Darfur], which has been overwhelmed by over 60,000 displaced people, who are almost completely reliant on outside assistance," Morris was quoted as saying in a UN statement. "Living conditions are abysmal. Malnutrition rates among children are soaring, and few if any are going to school. This pattern appears to be repeated across Darfur." The UN team visited Darfur from 28 to 30 April. It called on the Sudanese government to accelerate its efforts to control armed militias, provide security and protection for displaced people and facilitate humanitarian access. Armed conflict in the Darfur region is estimated to have forced more than a million people from their homes since February 2003, including thousands who have fled to neighbouring Chad. According to the UN, "repeated attacks by militia, including the burning of villages, widespread looting and systematic destruction of livelihoods, have left displaced people destitute". In its statement issued from the Sudanese capital, Khartoum, on Saturday, the UN added that despite the ceasefire signed on 8 April, which led to a reduction of hostilities between the warring parties, the humanitarian crisis had continued. "We received numerous reports of sexual abuse and harassment that has limited people's access to water, food and firewood. We also witnessed first hand how volatile the security situation is, and the massive human suffering that has been inflicted," Morris said. "People want to go home, and some have attempted to do so, but often they end up fleeing again as a result of renewed attacks." The UN announced an urgent appeal for resources to increase its operational capacity in the region. However, it said an expansion of humanitarian activities would require the timely approval by the Sudanese government of applications from humanitarian agencies to expand their work in Darfur. Sudanese officials downplayed the UN report. Sudanese media on Monday quoted Humanitarian Affairs Minister Ibrahim Mahmud Hamid as saying: "That is the mission’s report, but conditions in Darfur are no worse than those in Iraq and Palestine, as proven by the return of refugees and IDPs [internally displaced persons], especially in the areas of Kulbus [Western Darfur] and Adila [Northern Darfur]." The Darfur conflict erupted early last year between the Sudanese government and militias allied to it on the one hand, and two rebel groups on the other hand.