Displaced call for UNSC pressure on Khartoum: Still no access to Central Darfur

The Coordination Committee of the Central Darfur displaced has sent an urgent appeal to the international community to pressure Khartoum to allow humanitarian organisations access to the new displaced from Jebel Marra.

On Tuesday, El Shafee Abdallah, Coordinator of the Central Darfur camps for the displaced appealed via Radio Dabanga to the UN Security Council (UNSC) and the international community to intervene “as soon as possible to the rescue of thousands of newly displaced who are sheltering in Guldo, Tur, and Nierteti.

He also pointed to the “tens of thousands of people stranded high in the mountain who are in dire need of medicines, food, and protection”.

Access constraints continue

Aid organisations are still unable to identify how many people have been displaced in Central Darfur and assess their needs, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) in Sudan reported in its latest weekly bulletin.

Since 24 January, five requests for inter-agency missions were submitted to authorities, of which four were rejected and one is pending, OCHA said.

The UN continues to advocate with the Sudanese Humanitarian Aid Commission to include humanitarian partners in the verification of the new displaced and to allow inter-agency missions to identify humanitarian needs in all locations where newly displaced people are being reported, including in Nertiti, Thur, Golo, Guldo, Boori and Wadi Boori.

Meanwhile, a contingency plan has been developed to meet the needs of up to 70,000 people in the state.

According to HAC, as of 21 February the total number of new displaced in Central Darfur stands at 2,750 people (550 families). This includes 425 displaced (85 families) in Guldo, 1,810 (362 families) in Tur, and 515 displaced (103 families) in Nierteti.

There have also been reports of people fleeing Boori and Wadi Boori villages and taking refuge deeper in the Jebel Marra massif, while others have reportedly proceeded to the town of Guldo, OCHA reported.