Influx of newly displaced continues at South Darfur camps

Some 150 families arrived on Wednesday at Otash camp for the displaced in Nyala locality, South Darfur. They had fled from the attacks launched by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) last week. 117 families reached El Salam camp in the neighbouring Bielel locality on Friday. A villager from the area, Mohamed Eisa, reported to Radio Dabanga that he was part of the 150 families who reached the Otash camp. “We walked for four days. Most of us were women, children and elderly.” The families had fled the RSF attacks on the areas of Fula Talata, Fula Nwara, and Dahiya last week. “At least 200 people were killed, and 60 to 70 went missing. Dozens of bodies were still unburied.” The head of Otash camp confirmed the arrival of 120 families on Wednesday. “They were accommodated in the cottages of the camp’s health centre,” he told Radio Dabanga. “The newly displaced were extremely exhausted. They lost everything, and arrived with nothing more than the clothes they were wearing.” The camp head said that representatives of the governmental Humanitarian Affairs Commission had visited the newly displaced, “but they did not offer any help”. He appealed to relief organisations to accelerate the provision of humanitarian aid and support to the newly displaced persons. Beaten and tortured 117 families arrived from the areas of Hillat Ahmed Mustafa, and Sheikh Baraka to El Salam camp for the displaced, Bielel locality, on Friday. One of El Salam camp sheikhs told Radio Dabanga that all the newly displaced who arrived in the camp were children, women and elderly. “Most of them had clear marks of beatings and torture on their bodies.” “They are still living in the open, without shelter, food, or medicines.  The International Organisation for Migration, and the government’s Humanitarian Aid Commission distributed small amounts of grain to the first group of arrivals.” The camp sheikh appealed via Radio Dabanga to humanitarian organisations “to speed up the provision of water, food, shelter, and medicines to these newly displaced”. File photo Related:DRA bashes government for ‘absence during Darfur militia attacks’ (7 March 2014)More exhausted, tortured villagers arrive at camps in South Darfur (5 March 2014)