Darfur: SLM-AW pleads for aid to disease-stricken Jebel Marra

The Sudan Liberation Movement of the leadership of Abdelwahid El Nur (SLM-AW) has reiterated its call for rapid intervention by international relief organisations to combat the spread of diseases in areas under the control of the movement in Darfur’s Jebel Marra.

Infections among the population are rising, as many civilians are sheltering from the conflict in remote caves and valleys, and government forces prohibit humanitarian aid from reaching them.

As reported by Radio Dabanga last week, measles, dysentery, pneumonia, and eye infections are rife among people in Jebel Marra. There are also reports of anaemia, and incidences of miscarriage.

Epidemic

Abdelrahman El Nayer, the spokesman for the movement said: ”The diseases and epidemics continue to spread in a number of villages and areas under the control of the movement in Jebel Marra, but local, regional, and international authorities respond with silence to the humanitarian disaster.”

He pointed out that nine new cases of skin allergies and kidney diseases have been identified in the villages and camps of the displaced people in Jebel Marra, while dozens of cases in remote locations have not been identified because of a lack of communication networks.

He condemned what he called “the local, international and regional silence on the epidemics in the region,” pointing out that diseases have killed dozens and infected hundreds.

The movement appealed to the international community to intervene to rescue civilians trapped in caves and valleys by government forces that do not allow access to medicines and humanitarian organisations.