South Darfur lifts restriction of movement for aid workers

South Darfur lifts restriction of movement for aid workers

2011-06-15 23:13:37 GMT+7 (ICT)

DARFUR (BNO NEWS) -- The African Union - United Nations Mission in Darfur (UNAMID) on Wednesday said that authorities in South Darfur have now lifted the restriction of movement of aid workers in the region.

On May 17, the Sudan Government's Humanitarian Aid Commission informed representatives from non-governmental organizations, UNAMID, and other United Nations agencies that the State of South Darfur would immediately restrict all movement of humanitarian workers beyond a 15-kilometer (9.3-mile) radius of Nyala, the capital of South Darfur state in the western part of Sudan.

In addition to the movement restrictions beyond that area, the government also restricted access to the Kalma Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) camp. According to the Commission, the restrictions were necessary because of ongoing military operations and 'security threats.'

"South Darfur authorities have officially lifted restriction on the movement of aid workers in the state," UNAMID said in a brief statement on Wednesday. "UNAMID is currently providing escorts for several humanitarian convoys from Nyala to Kass, El Dain and Khor Abeche. Several metric tons of aid are to be delivered in the coming days."

In recent weeks, Sudanese warplanes have bombed areas surrounding the towns of Kadugli and Kauda in South Sudan, which will formally secede next month and become the world's youngest state. The international community has condemned the bombing campaign.

More than two million people, most of them civilians who died due to starvation and drought, were killed during the Second Sudanese Civil War between 1983 and 2005. The war officially ended with the 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA), but the conflict has nonetheless continued.

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