Concerns of farm failure for displaced in Central Darfur

The poor security situation in Central Darfur state has resulted in a failed planting season for the displaced of the camps in the vicinity of state capital Zalingei, said the coordinator of the camps. He added to Radio Dabanga that the humanitarian situation in the camps is dire. “The displaced people must break their fast during the holy month of Ramadan with water only as they have no food,” he said. “The security situation has deprived them of the opportunity of exercising their daily lives, so the autumn of this year has not been encouraging.” The coordinator expressed concern of a deepening humanitarian crisis should the agricultural season fail altogether. Throughout Darfur, banditry by marauding armed groups can make it difficult for the displaced to move outside the camps, according to daily reports reaching Radio Dabanga. This is especially true for those who leave the camps daily to plant and tend farmland. The current upsurge of inter-tribal violence in Central Darfur has made movement dangerous for all civilians, more so for the displaced, who must often cover long distances on foot to reach their farms. File photo by Albert González Farran/UN PhotoRelated: Darfur farmer killed in air raid on Jebel Marra (23 July)Life ‘harsh and intolerable’ for Darfur displaced (23 July)