More than 100,000 displaced in Sudan's Blue Nile - UN

[News_Editor]

More than 100,000 displaced in Sudan's Blue Nile - UN

2011-09-14 09:34:54 GMT+7 (ICT)

UNITED NATIONS (BNO NEWS) -- More than 100,000 people are estimated to have been displaced as fighting between the Sudanese armed forces and rebels in the country's Blue Nile state continues, the United Nations (UN) reported on Tuesday.

The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said that tens of thousands of displaced people cannot be reached by relief agencies due to movement restrictions against UN staff imposed by the Government in both Sennar and Blue Nile states.

Last Thursday, the Government said an assessment of humanitarian needs and the distribution of aid in Blue Nile will be coordinated by state authorities and that any humanitarian activities will be carried out by local humanitarian organizations, including the Sudanese Red Crescent Society (SRCS).

In an update that little is known about the situation in Blue Nile, particularly in the SPLM-N controlled areas due to lack of access, OCHA said that the number of displaced people could be over 100,000. In addition, the report said that while the security situation in the Blue Nile capital, Damazin, where fighting broke out at the beginning of the month, is normalizing, the city remains tense

The fighting pits government forces against the Sudan People's Liberation Movement-North (SPLM-N) and was previously confined to Southern Kordofan state before it spread to neighboring Blue Nile last week.

Meanwhile, the UN World Food Program (WFP) has received official requests from SRCS and another local group for food assistance to communities displaced from Blue Nile. However, due to government-imposed restrictions on pre-positioning of food stocks in Blue Nile, WFP has only enough stocks to feed 20,000 people for two weeks.

While three international NGOs have reported that their compounds in Damazin were looted, police in Damazin have continued to provide protection to UN offices and warehouses to prevent such incidents.

Some 8,000 newly displaced people in the eastern areas of South Kordofan have received non-food relief items as reports arise of ongoing fighting in various parts of the region. However, no further details have been forthcoming.

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