More displaced in Central Darfur need aid

The past days witnessed an influx of about 100 displaced families into Nierteti, Central Darfur. The people have fled their villages in the Jebel Marra Massif, that is being ravaged by aerial bombardments of the Sudanese Air Force against the armed rebels.

A community leader told Radio Dabanga that an estimated 1,310 families have taken refuge in camps for displaced people and homes of relatives in Nierteti since the beginning of the government’s military offensive in Jebel Marra began in mid-January.

In Tur, south of Nierteti, more than 12,034 families have taken shelter, according to a Sheikh one week ago.

An activist reported yesterday that “443 families” have arrived in Tawila, North Darfur, over the past five days. “I estimate that 17,843 displaced families have arrived here until Monday,” he said from Tawila.

“Most of the newly displaced people have received food and non-food aid from the International Organization for Migration. However, about 5,000 families have not received anything yet.”

Last Sunday, the State Minister of Foreign Affairs Kamaleldin Ismail announced that the barring of access by humanitarian organisation in Central Darfur is “a temporary [safety] measure imposed by the ongoing military operations in Jebel Marra”. Aid organisations have been unable to reach the state to verify the number of displaced people, or assess their humanitarian needs. The coordinator for the Central Darfur camps for the displaced told this station that authorities refuse to provide aid to the newly displaced.