Darfur displaced renew call to the world to save them

The displaced in Darfur camps again appealed to the international community to help them by sending urgent humanitarian aid, as security and health conditions are worsening and the number op people dying of hunger and thirst is rapidly growing. The Darfur Bar Association (DBA) conference on humanitarian needs in the region will be held in the Kalma camp in South Darfur.

On Wednesday, community leaders in Kalma camp for displaced people near Nyala, capital of South Darfur, sent a new call to the “all humanitarian organisations,” in particular the UN World Food Programme (WFP), asking them to intervene immediately to save the displaced people from starvation.

Residents of El Salam camp in Beleil, southeast of Nyala, reported acute malnutrition among children and the elderly due to the lack of food. They said that most people in the camp resorted to eating locusts and doum palm fruits.

“The number of malnutrition cases in the camp grows with 10 people per day,” El Hadi Abdallah told Radio Dabanga from El Salam camp yesterday. “If possible, they are transferred to Kalma camp, where there is at least a bit of health care left.”

Adam Ishag, members of the camp’s youth administration said that “each day, a person, often a child, dies of hunger”. He added that “many a time, we cannot move patients to Kalma camp due to the lack of money for their transportation”.

He reported the spread of tuberculosis while the necessary medicines are depleted.

Siege and hunger

Displaced people in Kassab camp in Kutum, North Darfur, are suffering of the deteriorated security situation and the lack of water, food, and health care.

“Malnutrition is rapidly spreading, in particular among children and the elderly,” Omda Hasan Mohamed, one of the camp leaders, told Radio Dabanga. “The depletion of food stocks has forced many to resort to begging.”

The people also suffer from a lack of drinking water. “Of the camp’s 32 water pumps, 28 are out of order, with the fuel crisis affecting the pumps that are still operating. The available water covers less than 40 percent of the displaced people’s needs.”

The displaced are also suffering from beatings and robberies on the camp roads. “We are in fact besieged by the militiamen.”

Kutum fell into the hands of the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in June last year. In the same month, the North Darfur government declared Kutum a humanitarian disaster area. 

Action plan

The Darfur Bar Association (DBA) committee preparing a large Conference on Humanitarian Issues in the Darfur Region in May, announced in a statement yesterday that they plan to organise the conference in Kalma camp.

The DBA originally planned to hold the conference in Jebel Marra in central Darfur “to raise attention to the very large need of humanitarian assistance”.

In a press statement yesterday, the preparatory committee said it will invite the US special envoy and representatives of the United Nations, European Union, and the African Union to attend and participate online “to hear directly from those affected by the war in their country.

The committee has prepared “an action plan for all parties concerned with distributing humanitarian aid to the displaced in the Darfur camps and Darfuri refugees in eastern Chad” aiming “to provide an effective and transparent distribution of food and medical aid to the refugees and displaced people living in extremely harsh conditions in camps, villages, and in shelters and homes in neighbourhoods of cities and towns”.

The plan includes “the participation of the people affected by the war, the stakeholders, to ensure effective distribution, and take strict measures and careful monitoring to maintain transparency and prevent corruption”.

The DBA organised a four-day preparatory forum in Kalma camp in end March. Participants abroad attended the forum online.

The Sudan Liberation Movement headed by Abdelwahid Nur reported that more than 26,000 children sheltering in Jebel Marra are malnourished and urged the UN to officially declare a famine in the region. Other speakers called on the UN “to intervene under Chapter VII”.

Insecurity and corruption

On Monday, coinciding with the first anniversary of the outbreak of war in Sudan, the Paris Conference on Humanitarian Issues in Sudan, convened by France, Norway, the United Kingdom, the USA, and the European Union, took place.

The event concluded with pledges of France, Germany, and the European Union to donate more than €2 billion to address the humanitarian catastrophe in Sudan. The United Arab Emirates (UAE), which earlier denied accusations of supporting the RSF with weapons, will donate a further $100 million to support humanitarian efforts in Sudan and neighbouring countries.

The warring Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the RSF were absent from the conference. Sudan’s Foreign Affairs Ministry denounced “that such a conference is convened on a matter concerning Sudan without consultation or coordination with its government and without its participation…”

The transport and distribution of earlier aid items donated has been prone to obstacles created by the Sudanese authorities, attacks by bandits and militiamen, and corruption concerning the distribution of food aid.