DanChurchAid
Sudan
Thousands displaced
Source:
ACT/Caritas - Darfur
By Gillian Sandford, ACT-Caritas field communicator in Manawashi
Violence and tension mounts
Manawashi, South Darfur, 31 January 2006:
- Armed militias have driven more than 55,000 people from their homes in South Darfur.
Gunmen on camels and horses prompted the mass exodus after shooting and looting in the camps and the town of Mershing, local people said.
Now tens of thousands of families huddle on exposed ground in the nearby town of Manawashi - with dwindling stocks of food and little shelter.
Community leaders say people want to return, but are calling for an international peacekeeping force to restore security and keep the area safe.
ACT-Caritas
ACT-Caritas, a leading aid group in South Darfur, has taken part in an assessment of the needs of the displaced people and is responding to the crisis. It is providing basics such as blankets, sleeping mats, and jerry cans. It is also ensuring that people have enough water and that sanitation facilities are built to prevent the outbreak of disease.
ACT-Caritas is a grouping of Protestant, Catholic and Orthodox relief agencies across the globe that has come together in one of the biggest emergency relief operations in South and West Darfur.
The mass exodus from Mershing began last Wednesday (25 January) when, according to local Sheiks, gunmen on camels and horses attacked and looted one of the camps for displaced people called Kele.
The Sheiks alleged police complicity in the attack, saying they helped to carry out the looted goods in their vehicles and led the attackers out of town.
On the following days, there were reports of attacks in other camps - Silo, Tege, and Um Gozein camps - including one in which a man who had some gold was allegedly shot and killed after refusing to hand it over.
On Thursday (26 January) evening, the militia struck Ton Kittir camp, driving their camels and horses into the camp, firing their Kalashnikovs, and looting shops, said local Sheiks.
They are also reported to have attacked the market in Mershing town using hammers to open shops.
People fled in panic as the attacks and looting continued and when neither the local police nor the African Union peacekeeping force - based 80 kilometres away in Nyala - was able to halt the deterioration in security.
Staff from ACT-Caritas and their partner agencies, the Sudan Council of Churches (SCC) and the Sudan Development Organisation (SUDO) alerted both the African Union (AU) and the United Nations headquarters in Nyala to the ongoing crisis.
Projects in the camps
Both partner agencies run projects in the camps, including schools and a health clinic.
The AU sent a patrol on Tuesday and Wednesday and promised local people to return with reinforcements, but did not do so.
An AU spokesperson later told ACT-Caritas that they did not return because the Government of Sudan police were not ready to patrol the area with them, which is a requirement.
Local people said that relations between police and people in Mershing were good until about a fortnight ago, when six Government of Sudan police were killed in an ambush on the Mershing to Manawashi road.
The following Sunday, armed gunmen on horseback and camels entered the market in Mershing town, shooting and looting animals, they said. Then the number of attacks escalated.
The local governor of South Darfur has visited the area and the Sudanese authorities have said they want the people to go back.
They have agreed to withdraw the existing police force and say there could be joint patrols between the police and African Union forces within a week. But observers believe this timescale is highly optimistic.
Local people say the want to go home, but they say they need to feel secure and they want joint patrols between a new police force and an international organisation.
"Protection is the responsibility of government, but people don't want protection here to be done by government alone," said one Sheik.
"The government must be assisted by another organisation: the United Nations or the African Union."
ACT International is a global alliance of churches and related agencies working to save lives and support communities in emergencies worldwide.
Caritas Internationalis is a confederation of 162 Catholic relief, development, and social service organizations present in 200 countries and territories.
Act member: DanChurchAid is a member of ACT International - a global alliance of churches and related agencies working to save lives and support communities in emergencies.
