Sudan Janjaweed
Correspondent:: König Prüß, GfbAEV
Date: Tue, 02 Nov 2004 15:30:18 GMT
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Sudan army surrounds Darfur camps
GENEVA, Switzerland (AP) -- The Sudanese army and police have surrounded
several refugee camps in the war-torn region of Darfur and denied access
to humanitarian groups, the United Nations said Tuesday.
"It started at 3 a.m. without any warning," said Christiane Berthiaume,
spokeswoman for the World Food Program. "Agencies have been denied
access to these camps since this morning."
At least 160,000 refugees in western Darfur cannot be reached by road
"because of insecurity," Berthiaume said.
The U.N. food agency has relocated a total of 88 aid workers from three
camps in the Nyala region: Golu, Zaleinge and Nertetie. Most of those
evacuated are working for independent aid organizations rather than the
United Nations, Berthiaume said.
The agency still has three employees in Zaleinge and Nertetie but may
evacuate them depending "on the evolution of the situation," Berthiaume
said.
WFP is concerned that government forces may start relocating people in
the camps back to their villages, where there is less protection from
government-backed militias known as Janjaweed, she said.
Refugees fear the move may be government retaliation for the kidnapping
of 18 Sudanese of Arab origin, who were taken hostage while traveling on
a bus between Zaleinge and Nyala last week, WFP said.
Sudan's government is accused of backing the Janjaweed to help put down
a 19-month rebellion by non-Arab African groups. The United Nations and
aid groups have previously called Darfur the world's worst humanitarian
crisis.
Aid workers and U.N. officials in Sudan have confirmed violence in the
Zaleinge area, where tensions have risen as Arab tribes have demanded
international agencies secure the hostages' release.
A deadline for the release of the Arab hostages expired Sunday.
The Sudanese government has since accused the rebel Sudan Liberation
Army of the kidnappings, while rebels claimed Janjaweed ordered 30
ethnic Africans from a bus on Sunday and shot them to death.
The United Nations has suspended all field missions by international
organizations because of the kidnapping and violence, Ron Redmond,
spokesman for the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees, said.
"Along with other international organizations, we have had to cancel
missions to the field planned for this week," he said.
Attacks have uprooted 1.5 million of Darfur's people, and at least
70,000 have died, mostly through disease and hunger, according to the
U.N. Both sides are accused of routine violations of an April
cease-fire.