Reports on South Darfur camps: numbers still unclear

The Humanitarian Aid Commissioner of South Darfur state, Jamal Yusuf Idris, has declared that there are nine camps for the displaced in the state, next to five locations where newly displaced have arrived. The commissioner mentioned that the total of displaced persons in South Darfur has reached 411,000, stressing that the people have been counted by taking their fingerprints electronically in order to prevent forgery. The number of displaced in Gireida locality turned out to be 98,689, among them 992 families of newly displaced from the areas of Donkey Direisa and Sinam El Naga. Yet, Hussein Abu Sharati, spokesman for the Association of Displaced Persons and Refugees of Darfur, contradicted the numbers mentioned by the commissioner. He referred to the numbers listed by international organisations which mention the existence of more than 45 camps, the newly formed camps not included. He also pointed to Kalma camp that alone houses 185,000 displaced already. Abu Sharati furthermore referred to the remarks Unamid chief Mohamed Ibn Chambas made about the current conditions in the camps in a recent interview with Radio Dabanga, adding that the humanitarian and security situation in the camps has become worse than “harsh, catastrophic and tragic”.He explained that assaults, rape and killings, pillaging and looting of displaced by militias are continuing “every morning and every evening, without a break”. File photo: Food ration distribution to the displaced in Darfur (Albert González Farran/UNAMID) Related: Exclusive: Unamid head pleads for ‘lasting peace in Darfur’ (4 September) Conflicting reports on soaring number of South Darfur’s newly displaced (2 August)