South Darfur: Kalma camp displaced protest lack of food

Residents of Kalma camp for the displaced near Nyala organised a sit-in last week in protest against the growing lack of food in the camp. The government of South Darfur has taken measures to secure voluntary return villages in the state.

In August 2017, the World Food Programme (WFP) launched a new policy for distributing food rations, which reportedly would meet less than 25 per cent of the displaced people’s needs.

“Since then, we are suffering from hunger,” Yagoub Furi, chairman of the Darfur Displaced General Coordination, told Radio Dabanga.

“The number of residents of Kalma camp is about 200,000 people, of which 163,000 used to receive monthly food rations,” he explained. “After the re-inventory of the WFP, the number of eligible camp residents was reduced to 39,551.”

Furi warned for increased hunger. “With the continuously increasing prices of basic commodities, the unemployment, and failure of many farmers to safely cultivate their farms, many people in the camp are heading towards starvation”.

He called on the WFP and humanitarian organisations to expedite the provision of food to the displaced.

Security measures

The South Darfur authorities have deployed security forces near a number of villagers of voluntary return after a group of gunmen attacked and killed Omda Jibril Ahmed and his wife in Digris village in Nyala locality on July 11.

The victims had recently returned from Kalma camp to their home area, as part of the government’s voluntary return programme.

Tajeldin Ibrahim, voluntary return commissioner in Darfur, told the press on Sunday that four suspects have been arrested. He described the incident as isolated. “The suspects are individual perpetrators with no tribal or political motives.”