Drinking water still scarce in Mershing camps, South Darfur

Displaced persons living in four Mershing camps, South Darfur, have once again complained about the scarcity of drinking water in the site. Although authorities looked into the technical problems, they “never returned” to repair the machines. Residents of the El Tom Kitir, Hashaba, Solow and Taiga camps said “all six water pumps operating in the camps have completely stopped working”. This is forcing them to travel up to 3km to fetch water. In addition, the price of water gallons has risen from two to five Sudanese pounds, a sheikh told Radio Dabanga on Monday. He urged authorities to fix the problem, as many displaced do not have money to buy water. Two weeks ago, a source had already complained about a “water crisis” at the camps saying: “The problem follows the withdrawal of UNICEF that was operating the pumps. The World Vision organization was responsible for taking over the task”.File photo: Girls from Forog, in Insuro area (North Darfur), welcome the arrival of a Unamid delegation and report their need of water with handwritten banners (Albert González Farran/Unamid)Related: South Darfur displaced of 4 sites complain about ‘water crisis’ (14 April 2013)