Voluntary return proviso for aid denounced at El Salam camp, South Darfur

The displaced inhabitants of El Salam camp near Nyala in South Darfur have denounced what they called “the strange manner in which the officials of the Darfur Regional Authority associate the distribution of aid to voluntary return”. Sheikh Mahjoub Adam Tabeldiya of camp El Salam told Radio Dabanga on Wednesday that the Darfur Regional Authority (DRA) sent 100 sacks of sugar to the camp but when it came to distributing it to the displaced, the DRA would only do so on condition of voluntary return. Sheikh Tabeldiya denounced this: “How could there be voluntary return when displacement continues due to poor security? If the Darfur Regional Authority wants to provide aid, it should do so without conditions or by urging the displaced to return.” He pointed out that the original causes of the peoples’ displacement have not disappeared. The Sheikh also confirmed that the newly displaced population numbers 2,700. This is in addition to the longer-term displaced already living in the camp. “If the 100 sacks of sugar were distributed, each person would get less than an ounce.” File photo by Albert González Farran/Unamid Related: Camps’ resources stretched even further in Nyala, South Darfur (30 May 2013) Looming rainy season threat of ‘disaster’ at Nyala camps, South Darfur (28 May 2013)