Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Khartoum (Fides Service)- Negotiations between the government of Sudan and the two guerrilla movements in Darfur, Justice and Equality Movement and Sudan Liberation Movement continue in Abuja (Nigeria) under the aegis of the African Union. On Saturday September 4 African mediators presented a disarmament programme for the different groups fighting in this western region of Sudan.
On September 1, the government of Khartoum and the rebels reached an agreement to protect more than 1.2 million people who fled their villages because of the fighting (see Fides 2 September 2004). Despite the agreement yesterday 5 September a UN spokesman said violence continues and that another 4,000 people had fled their homes over the past few days.
The international community is discussing how to deal with Khartoum since it failed to meet the UN 30 August deadline to stop the conflict in Darfur and the UN had threatened to impose sanctions.
According to a report by the UN envoy to the region presented on 2 September to the UN Security Council, the Sudanese authorities have deployed more police and military to protect civilians as requested but they have not succeeded in stopping the attacks.
In some parts of Darfur (which is the size of France) humanitarian agencies says there is a slight improvement in the situation. “A UNHCR team sent last week to the village of Saleah in western Darfur confirmed the presence of more than 500 families who had returned to Sudan in July from Chad where they fled for safety” says a UNHCR report sent to Fides and it adds that smaller groups of refugees return every week. These returnees settle first in the villages of Saleah, Kondebe and Sirba but, according to the UNHCR workers, despite a slight improvement in security they are afraid go more than a few kilometres from the villages because attacks continue. On returning the families find conditions were not as expected. Some refugees tried to return to the villages from which they came but they had to go back to makeshift camps for the homeless. “Despite slightly better security conditions Janjaweed militia continue to steal livestock, attack villages and homes, kill and rape” UNHCR informs us. There are still at least 100,000 Sudanese refugees in Chad as well as 1 million internally displaced persons the interior of Sudan.(L.M.) (Agenzia Fides 6/9/2004 righe parole)
