20/07/2004

UN agencies accuse Sudan of forcibly moving refugees

UN humanitarian agencies have accused the Sudanese government of "increasingly pressuring internally displaced people" (IDPs) within the troubled Darfur region to return to their homes, even though the beleaguered civilians remain afraid of militia attacks and security has still not improved.

Already more than 11,000 people have been relocated forcibly, and Khartoum wants to move IDPs in Mornei, one of West Darfur's biggest camps, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said in a statement.

On Saturday, at a meeting of the Joint Implementation Mechanism (JIM) - the body set up to monitor the pledges made in the recent communiqué by the UN and Sudan - UN officials told Sudan that there has been "no progress" on security and protecting IDPs.

The officials said IDPs were afraid of returning to their home villages because they feared attacks by the Janjaweed, Arab-dominated militias allied to the government.

More than one million people have been uprooted since fighting broke out early last year between the Sudanese government and two rebel groups, and the Janjaweed began carrying out deadly attacks against local black Africans.

OCHA said the number of IDPs in Darfur has swelled by 100,000 in the past month, with fresh groups of people arriving daily at the numerous IDP camps across the region.

(gmcg)

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