Darfur IDPs unlikely to return home in the near future - UN

A large number of internally displaced persons (IDPs) in the western Sudanese region of Darfur are unlikely to return to their homes in the immediate future, UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan said in a report to the Security Council, which called for the strengthening of the African Union (AU) mission in Darfur. "Large-scale returns are not expected during this phase [June to August 2005], and this is only partially due to continuing violence," Annan said in the report released on Monday. "Even if a secure environment were established throughout Darfur, the lack of food security, the devastation of the economy, and the almost total disruption of normal patterns of life would limit the number of returns in the near future," he added. An interagency return survey in North Darfur, published on 30 April, found that some 98 percent of the 2,108 IDP households surveyed had reported that they were unwilling to return to their former villages. The report cited insecurity (42 percent), destruction of housing (37 percent) and loss of land (21 percent) as the most common reasons among IDPs for not wanting to return. Annan noted that even though attacks on civilians were not occurring on the same scale encountered in 2004, violence continued and the general level of insecurity in Darfur remained unacceptable. "If those already displaced were to return home, it is widely assumed that they would suffer renewed attacks," Annan said in his Council report. "Those who are obliged to venture outside the camps risk murder, rape, theft and other crimes." The Secretary-General noted that the AU mission in Darfur was effective in the areas in which it had been deployed, and therefore needed strengthening in order to expand its presence and cover more of the vast regions and difficult terrain. The AU mission would increase its force from 2,200 to 5,887 military and 1,560 police (totaling 7,447) by August 2005 in an effort to create a secure environment for IDPs in and around the camps, as well as to provide security and access to humanitarian relief and services to civilians who were not yet displaced but were deemed vulnerable. The report also outlined the concept of a complex, multinational, 12,000-strong operation to contribute to a secure environment throughout Darfur, which would permit the full return of displaced persons in time for the 2006 planting season. AU member states urgently needed to identify personnel to join the mission, Annan added, and the AU Commission needed to strengthen its planning and management capacity in order to support an expanded mission. Meanwhile, international partners had to provide the AU with the means required to carry out this costly and challenging task. The UN Mission in Sudan (UNMIS), however, could only provide the AU with limited assistance, as UNMIS would have to focus all of its resources and attention on supporting the implementation of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement, which ended the 21-year civil war between the Sudanese government and the Sudan Peoples’ Liberation Movement/Army in the south. "The operation in southern Sudan, which is the result of months of careful planning, should not be compromised or unduly strained, especially not during the delicate start-up process," Annan said. Nevertheless, UNMIS could assist the AU in identifying qualified police personnel and training AU personnel, in the development of a detailed expansion plan, provide advice on logistics, planning and management, and support the convening of troop-contributor and pledging conferences. The war in Darfur pits Sudanese government troops and militias - allegedly allied to the government - against rebels fighting to end what they have called marginalisation and discrimination of the region's inhabitants by the state. Over 2.4 million people continue to be affected by the conflict, 1.85 million of whom are internally displaced or have been forced to flee to neighbouring Chad.