Security situation in Jebel Marra ‘stable’: governor

The Governor of Central Darfur said the security situation at the three main localities of the Jebel Marra region are “stable” and praised voluntary returnees for joining the return programmes.

In his speech to worshippers in western Jebel Marra locality on Tuesday, following Eid El Adha prayers, Mohamed Ahmed Jad El Rab said that the stable security situation has contributed to large numbers of voluntary returnees.

The returnees, former displaced people who have lived in camps for years after fleeing the armed conflict that erupted in Darfur in 2003-2004, “will increase the productivity in the state”, the governor said.

El Rab praised the Sudanese regular forces “for maintaining security and stability and protecting the peace that has been achieved in Jebel Marra”.

Earlier this month, the Voluntary Return Commission in Central Darfur announced that 26,595 displaced people have returned to the state as part of the voluntary return programme.

Displacement

Starting February the government forces and rebel SLM-AW fighters resumed fighting in Jebel Marra which has led to the displacement of thousands of residents, however.

In Radio Dabanga’s ongoing reporting on the renewed heavy clashes in Darfur’s Jebel Marra, the SLM-AW was the only armed movement reported to be involved in the fighting. Last month a United Nations panel of independent experts on Sudan reported that the clashes, after nearly a year-long lull, have resulted in a “significant number of casualties on both sides and among civilians.”

The fighting in Jebel Marra has forced thousands to flee, with many taking refuge in caves and valleys with no access to food, water or proper shelter, the Panel of Experts confirmed. “The situation has been uniformly characterised as a dire humanitarian situation,” it said.

(Source: Sudan Tribune)