400,000 displaced in West Jebel Marra

Region in need of urgent humanitarian aidNearly 400,000 people have been displaced in West Jebel Marra areas, the Humanitarian Protection Strategy of the United Nations African Mission in Darfur (UNAMID) said on Tuesday.

“The assessments so far conducted confirm that approximately 400,000 people are displaced in Jebel Marra area,” said Oriano Micaletti, head of the UNAMID Humanitarian Protection Strategy. “They have received very limited assistance during the last few years and are in urgent need of humanitarian aid.”

There is an urgent need for humanitarian aid according to the Humanitarian Protection Strategy of the Mission.

The West Jebel Marra area has been in conflict since the past couple of years during which limited help was available to the affected people. The precarious security situation in the region led to the withdrawal of most international aid organizations in 2009.

Earlier this month, the UNAMID led a seven-day humanitarian mission comprised of OCHA, UNICEF, UNHCR and WHO as well as the Danish Refugee Council (DRC) to West Jebel Marra.

The mission, from 7-14 August, both assessed the needs of the communities and delivered some humanitarian assistance to needy people in Golo, Killin, Sarong, Golol, Thur and Nertiti. However, the team could not access the communities of Kutrum and Kiwilla, as planned, due to security restrictions.

This month’s multi-agency UN mission was the first to establish contact with the conflict-affected region in many months.