1,600 people displaced by inter-communal violence in Tawila locality, North Darfur

An inter-agency mission had visited Tawila in North Darfur to assess the issue of new displacement in the locality.

Following reports by local authorities of the displacement of some 7,000 people from the Kosa area to Katur village, both in Tawila locality, North Darfur state, an inter-agency mission led by the Sudanese government’s Humanitarian Aid Commission (HAC) and the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) visited the area from 28 to 30 September to assess humanitarian needs.

The latest weekly OCHA Humanitarian Bulletin says Community leaders reported an estimated 320 families or roughly 1,600 individuals who had been displaced from 13 villages and farms near Kosa. The team observed that the people who had been displaced following inter-communal violence between farmers and pastoralists in early September had dispersed in the area.

According to community leaders, people are taking shelter in the surrounding hills due to a fear of further attacks. The inter-agency team consisting of a number of UN agencies, the Sudanese Red Crescent Society (SRCS) and line ministries was unable to access the IDPs taking shelter in the hills due to inaccessibility, as the terrain is rocky and there are no roads.

Emergency assistance

The team concluded that people in Katur area, both residents and those newly displaced, are in need of emergency assistance, with the most urgent identified needs being access to healthcare, water, food, essential household items, protection and education services. People in the area surrounding Katur have limited access to existing facilities, which are located in Katur village.

According to the most recent UN Secretary-General’s report on the United Nations – African Union Mission in Darfur (Unamid), between 15 June and 15 September there was an overall reduction in the number of inter-communal security incidents in Darfur, in particular as a result of the more effective involvement of the native administrations and the impact of security measures taken by the state authorities, including the expedient deployment of security forces, the establishment of buffer zones in hot spots and the prevention of the use of compensation money (diya) as an extortion tool. With the beginning of the farming season in June, however, disputes over access to land resulted in several security incidents, the report said.

(Source: OCHA)