Security wains

Sudan: Complex Emergency Situation Report #6 (FY 2008)

U.S. AGENCY FOR INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENTBUREAU FOR DEMOCRACY, CONFLICT, AND HUMANITARIAN ASSISTANCE (DCHA)

BACKGROUND
In 2008, Sudan continues to cope with the effects of conflict, displacement, and insecurity countrywide. In Sudan's western region of Darfur, fighting among armed opposition factions, the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF), militias, and ethnic groups is ongoing. According to the U.N., the clashes have displaced more than 90,000 people within Darfur and to Eastern Chad since January of this year. Since 2003, the Darfur complex emergency has affected 4.2 million people, including more than 2.4 million internally displaced persons (IDPs). note that the numbers are starting to change - reevaluations of reality

The former Government of Sudan (GOS) and the southern-based Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM) continue to implement the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) through the joint Government of National Unity (GNU). The GNU was formed in 2005, when the parties signed the CPA and officially ended more than two decades of conflict between the north and the south. During the conflict, famine, fighting, and disease killed more than 2 million people, forced an estimated 600,000 Sudanese to seek refuge in neighboring countries, and displaced 4 million others within Sudan. The U.N. estimates that nearly 2 million people displaced during the conflict have returned to Southern Sudan and the Three Areas of Southern Kordofan, Blue Nile, and Abyei since 2005, taxing scarce resources and weak infrastructure. In eastern Sudan, the GNU and the Eastern Front opposition coalition signed the Eastern Sudan Peace Agreement (ESPA) in 2006, but the area remains underdeveloped and slow to recover from the decades of conflict.

The U.S. Government (USG) is the largest bilateral donor to Sudan and has contributed more than $3 billion for humanitarian programs in Sudan and eastern Chad since FY 2004. The USG continues to support the implementation of the CPA and joins the international community in seeking a peaceful resolution to the conflict in Darfur. On October 11, 2007, U.S. Chargé d'Affaires Alberto M. Fernandez renewed the disaster declaration for the complex emergency in Sudan for FY 2008.

NUMBERS AT A GLANCE

IDPs in Sudan
From Southern Sudan: 2.7 million In Darfur: 2.45 million In Eastern Sudan: 168,000

Sudanese Refugees
From Southern Sudan: 255,000 From Darfur: 250,000
Refugees in Sudan From Eritrea, Chad, Ethiopia, and Others: 215,630

CURRENT SITUATION IN DARFUR
In April, interethnic fighting and continued SAF bombing in Darfur resulted in significant new displacement. Banditry and hijacking of relief vehicles throughout Darfur limited humanitarian operations resulted in decreased food rations for beneficiaries. Targeting of humanitarian staff escalated in April, resulting in the deaths of two individuals.
Security and Humanitarian Access

During the month of April, bureaucratic impediments and insecurity continued to hamper relief efforts and access throughout Darfur. Relief agencies reported visa processing delays and new local government requirements for travel to project sites.

To date in 2008, bandits have hijacked or ambushed 100 humanitarian vehicles in Darfur. In response to increased carjacking incidents, some relief agencies have begun traveling to project sites in rental vehicles. However, the local government in North Darfur is forbidding humanitarian workers traveling in rental vehicles to pass through government checkpoints and is requiring that relief agencies submit travel plans and vehicle ownership information, which is causing delays in access to project sites.

On April 17, the U.N. World Food Program (WFP) announced that banditry and hijacking of WFP-contracted vehicles in Darfur has forced the organization to cut monthly rations for Darfuris in half for May and June. According to WFP, bandits have hijacked 64 contracted trucks since January 1. To date, 41 trucks and 28 drivers remain missing. On April 24, assailants killed a WFP-contracted driver transporting food aid on a main transport route between North and South Darfur. The incident was the second killing of a WFP-contracted driver in two months.
On May 1 and 2, assailants killed two USAID partner Save the Children staff members in separate incidents in West Darfur and eastern Chad. To date in 2008, assailants have killed five and abducted more than 90 humanitarian staff in Darfur.

According to the U.N., during the week of April 1, cross-border tensions between armed elements in Beida locality, West Darfur, led to relocation of nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) working in the area. On April 15 and 16, the U.N. conducted a security assessment and reported ongoing tensions, extending the 'no go' status by an additional week. Despite insecurity, NGOs continue to maintain minimal operations in the Beida area through reduced local staff presence.

On April 21, OCHA reported that clashes between the SAF and the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) armed opposition group had resumed again in northern West Darfur, after a brief lull in hostilities. Renewed fighting between SAF and JEM began in December 2007.
During the week of April 29, the U.N. reported that SAF planes bombed several villages in North Darfur. According to initial U.N. reports, the areas of Um Sidir, El Hashim, and Heles suffered repeated aerial attacks. On May 1, a U.N.–African Union Mission in Darfur (UNAMID) team flew to Um Sidir to provide medical care to victims of the attack, which killed two men and injured eight others. UNAMID evacuated eight victims to El Fasher for advanced medical care. The attacks in El Hashim and Heles injured one woman and destroyed property and livestock. On May 4, armed opposition group members and NGO staff reported additional government bombings in two areas of North Darfur, including attacks on a school and marketplace in Shegeg Karo that killed 13 individuals and wounded more than 30. On May 6, U.N. Humanitarian Coordinator Ameera Haq condemned the attacks against civilians and called for immediate humanitarian and medical access to the affected areas.