Photo: Tim McKulka/UNMIS In May 2010 thousands of people were displaced from their homes to Mukjar, Bendesi and Zalingei, in South Darfur
NAIROBI, 18 June 2010 (IRIN) - The European Union has urged Sudanese authorities to ensure humanitarian workers reach thousands of people affected by ongoing fighting in Darfur and to improve security across the volatile western region.
"As fighting between government forces and [armed groups], and between [communities] continues, humanitarian workers are prevented from reaching some of the most needy communities," the European Commissioner for International Cooperation, Humanitarian Aid and Crisis Response, Kristalina Georgieva said.
"Big parts of eastern Jebel Mara... where fighting is ongoing, have been inaccessible since February," she added. "I can only imagine the dire conditions for the women and children who are in great need of humanitarian assistance which we are simply unable to bring."
Access and security would also open up economic development in Darfur, and break "the vicious circle of crisis breeding insecurity and insecurity deepening the crisis", Georgieva, who recently visited the region, said in an interview published by ECHO, the EU's Humanitarian Organization, on 18 June.
Clashes between armed groups, lack of access for aid workers and inadequate rainfall have aggravated the humanitarian situation in Darfur, say aid workers. Fighting between Sudanese government forces and the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) intensified in May in South Darfur, with casualties reported on both sides, according to the UN Mission in Darfur (UNAMID).
Government forces also fought another group, the Abdul Wahid faction of the Sudan Liberation Army. Separate clashes occurred between armed local communities.
At least 447 people died across the region in May. Thousands more were displaced in places like El Taweisha of North Darfur. At least 10,000 recently arrived in Zam Zam camp near the state capital, El Fasher. On 16 June, UNAMID reported ongoing clashes southwest of Zalingei in West Darfur between the Misseriya and Mahadi communities.
"The recent upsurge in fighting has created very serious hindrances to the effective implementation of UNAMID's protection mandate," Ibrahim Gambari, Joint AU-UN Special Representative for Darfur, told the UN Security Council recently. Civilians, he added, had moved away from areas of fighting like Jebel Moon towards the Chadian border and areas east of Jebel Moon.
Hostilities between JEM and government forces escalated in the first two weeks of May, he added. Movements of equipment and build-up of troops had continued on both sides and military confrontations could continue unless urgent efforts were made to ensure a ceasefire.
Suspended operations
The situation has forced NGOs to suspend operations in eastern Jebel Marra, and humanitarian assessments have been severely limited, according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).
"The problem in eastern Jebel Marra is that we don't know what the situation is because we don't have access," UN Emergency Relief Coordinator John Holmes said during a recent visit to Sudan.
The combination of conflict, drought, high food prices and poor seasonal production, the Famine Early Warning System network (FEWS Net) warned in a 16 June brief, was likely to affect food security through September in parts of the volatile region.
Displacement
Fighting between JEM and government forces in Jebel Moon area in West Darfur State, eastern parts of South Darfur State, and southern parts of North Darfur State, as well as communal conflict between the Misseriya and Rezighat in south/east parts of West Darfur State and the south/west of South Darfur State displaced thousands to Mukjar, Bendesi and Zalingei in May.
"Prevailing insecurity conditions in Darfur continue to prevent people from engaging in typical livelihood strategies such as firewood/grass collection, seasonal migration for labour, and wild food collection," it said.
The Darfur conflict escalated in 2003 when local groups took up arms, accusing the government of neglecting the region. In response, the government is believed to have armed Arab Janjawid militias - a claim the government denies. The militias are accused of attacking, raping and pillaging Darfur's indigenous communities.
Sudanese President Omar el-Bashir has been indicted by the International Criminal Court on war crimes charges relating to the situation in Darfur.
eo/mw
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