UNITED NATIONS HUMANITARIAN TEAM LEAVES FOR SUDAN

UNITED NATIONS HUMANITARIAN TEAM LEAVES FOR SUDAN

(Reissued as received.)

NEW YORK, 24 February (OCHA) -- Today, on behalf of the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), the International Humanitarian Partnership is dispatching three United Nations Disaster Assessment and Coordination (UNDAC) support modules to Darfur region of the Sudan.  Seven technical experts from Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Norway and the United Kingdom are accompanying the four-wheel drive vehicles, office and communications equipment.  Belgium and the Netherlands are arranging for the airlift of the personnel and supplies as a contribution to the United Nations in the Sudan, in total valued at just under $1 million.

The modules are being deployed at the request of the United Nations Humanitarian Coordinator for the Sudan.  The team will join forces with a five-person UNDAC team deployed by OCHA last week, and OCHA and United Nations agency humanitarian staff already in country.  The first team consisted of emergency managers from OCHA, Estonia, Philippines and the United Kingdom.

The completed team is being further deployed to support United Nations coordination offices in El Fashir, Nyala and El Geneina in Darfur.  The mission will establish a system for UN inter-agency and partner coordination and will negotiate and protect unimpeded access for assistance.  In addition, the mission will carry out situation and needs assessments and identify opportunities for further UN and partner agency interventions if necessary.

The Darfur region of the Sudan remains highly volatile for civilians and the humanitarian community.  The security situation outside the three capital towns throughout Darfur is of particular concern.

About two weeks ago, the President of the Sudan, Omer Hassan Ahmed Al Bashir, promised to provide access to aid workers so that they can reach millions of suffering civilians in Darfur region.

“The people of Darfur have endured a humanitarian crisis on a massive scale, but the humanitarian community has been largely unable to assist because we have been prevented from delivering adequate aid up to now”, said Emergency Relief Coordinator Jan Egeland.  Nearly 3 million people affected by the conflict in Sudan’s Darfur region have remained beyond the reach of aid agencies trying to provide essential humanitarian aid.  United Nations aid agencies estimate that they have been able to reach only 15 per cent of people in need.  The number of people who have fled from Darfur to Chad has nearly doubled to 110,000 in the past three months.  More than 700,000 people have been internally displaced in the past year.

Since the fighting started between rebel groups, militias and the Government of the Sudan a year ago, the United Nations has consistently received reports of systematic raids against civilian populations.  These attacks have reportedly included burning and looting of villages, large-scale killings, and abductions.  Humanitarian workers have also been targeted, with staff being abducted and relief trucks looted.

The Darfur region covers roughly one fifth of Sudan’s territory and is home to 6 million people.  The Sudan, Africa’s largest country, is also home to its longest running conflict.  It is estimated that more than 2 million people have died because of Sudan’s conflict, and that 4 million people have been driven from their homes.

For further information, please call:  Stephanie Bunker, OCHANY, tel: (917) 367-5126, mobile: (917) 892-1679; Elizabeth Byrs, OCHA Geneva, tel: 41 22 917 2653, mobile: 41(0) 79 472 4570.

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