Darfur's aid lifeline in danger
Bandits from all factions are increasingly targeting relief convoys and aid workers in Sudan's conflict.
from the June 11, 2007 edition
Page 3 of 3
The Darfur Peace Agreement, signed between rebels and the Sudanese government, was supposed to solve all this. But unfortunately, only one rebel group, the Sudanese Liberation Army faction led by Minni Minnawi, signed the agreement, with the government signing on behalf of the Arab tribes. As a result of signing, Mr. Minnawi's influence has waned, and supporters have either broken away to form their own groups or to support those of other rebel leaders such as Abdul Wahid.
UN Special Envoy Jan Eliasson said that three weeks ago there were nine opposition movements. Now, he said, there are 12. "They are fragmenting further, and that is the great difficulty, not only politically but physically and logistically," he told the Associated Press on June 8. Mr. Eliasson presented a road map to UN Security Council aimed at reviving peace talks. In late June, he expects to begin shuttle diplomacy to prepare for negotiations. "We hope that we will be able to have the negotiation phase start at the end of the summer," Eliasson said.
He noted that Eritrea, Chad and Libya are embarking on a regional initiative to promote a political solution in Darfur. Sudan's Salva Kiir, a former rebel leader who is now president of the southern Sudan region, plans a meeting later this month to bring non-signatories together.
Government officials have always claimed that the Darfur crisis was a "local problem," a fight for power over the local government among the competing Fur, Zaghawa, and Arab tribes, and a broader fight over precious water resources among farmers and herders.
Minister of Culture Mohamed Yousif Abed Allah blames the Darfur crisis on the Darfur rebel groups themselves, who launched an armed insurgency in 2003, claiming neglect by the central government.
"The division created by armed groups are now so deep, that no one can trust each other," says Mr. Abed Allah, who is himself a member of the Fur tribe from Jabal Marra. Yet Abed Allah admits that the government also played a major role in the conflict, by arming and training nomadic Arab tribes into militias, called janjaweed, in order to bring the rebellion under control. "This is normal when there is a rebellion. Those who support the government should enjoy the privileges, and those who are against the government should not get privileges."
For the displaced people of Darfur, who have fled their homes and farmland to rely on international assistance, anarchy and attacks on humanitarian groups mean that their lives are likely to get worse if security doesn't improve.
In the scattered camps, international aid groups are making difficult decisions about whether to continue operating in places of high risk, or to pull back to the safer cities.
Relief International, an aid group that operates medical clinics in some of the hardest to reach areas of Darfur, pulled out three months ago from three camps – Argo, Dali, and AU camp – near the town of Taweela. They had been providing the only medical services available for the estimated 10,700 people in those camps, but were forced to pull back to Al-Fasher, after a string of four carjackings by unidentified armed groups.
"We had to pull out, it was getting too dangerous," says Dr. Mohammad Izziddeen, manager of the Relief International clinic at the relatively safer Zamzam camp near Al-Fasher. Pointing at a doctor in a long white lab coat, he says, "They fired on his vehicle, that's when we decided to pull back."
RSS feed
