Darfur attack leaves thousands needing aid

Thousands of civilians recently attacked by government-backed militias in West Darfur need urgent assistance, a joint UN assessment mission has found.

The 8 February attacks were intended to rout forces of the opposition Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) from Abu Sorouj, Sirba and Seleia towns in West Darfur, according to Sudanese government officials.

The UN World Food Programme (WFP) said the joint mission visited the area on 11 February and found about 5,000 people in Sirba in urgent need of food, shelter, medical support and other non-food items.

"The number of people requiring assistance in Abu Sorouj is still being assessed," WFP said in a statement. "As a precautionary measure, WFP will be providing one-month food rations to cover the needs of 10,000 people."

The attackers, aid workers said, burnt down the towns about 55km north of El-Geneina, the capital of West Darfur, scattering at least 44,000 internally displaced people who had sought shelter there.

An estimated 12,000 civilians fled to neighbouring Chad, according to the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR), while thousands of others scattered to nearby villages.

A national staff member of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) was killed during the fighting in Seleia.

"The ICRC is shocked by the news of this death, which occurred during the evening of 8 February at the ICRC office in Seleia," the ICRC said. "The exact circumstances of this tragic event remain unclear."

The ICRC urged the parties concerned to uphold international humanitarian law which requires them to respect and protect personnel carrying out relief work.

The attack followed a pattern of clashes since December in West Darfur between Sudanese government forces and the JEM, which took control of key villages north of El-Geneina.

JEM leaders deny hiding among civilians in West Darfur and accuse the government of deliberately killing civilians. Human Rights Watch estimates that the attacks have cut off about 160,000 people from aid.

Fighting in Darfur started in 2003 when communities living there took up arms against the government in Khartoum, accusing it of marginalising Darfur. According to aid workers, at least 200,000 lives have been lost while over two million people have been forced to flee their homes.

A Joint UN-African Union peacekeeping operation is being set up in Darfur, but its progress has been hampered by lack of adequate men and logistics.

Last week, Jan Eliasson, UN Special Envoy for Darfur, told the UN Security Council that the situation was getting out of control.

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