Escalating violence in Darfur has caused 160,000 people to be forced out of their homes and 4.2 million to aid relief since January. Attacks against relief works have increased 150 percent in the past year according to the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA). In June, one out of every six convoys leaving capitals in Darfur were attacked or ambushed by “armed groups,” generally bandits or anti-government rebels. OCHA states that since January, 64 vehicles have been hijacked and 132 staff temporarily detained.
“This kind of lawlessness by armed groups of different political affiliations has forced relief organizations to suspend programming and relocate out of dangerous environments on 15 occasions, temporarily depriving over 1 million beneficiaries of life-saving assistance,” OCHA said.
U.N. and African envoys have set a August deadline to start peace negotiations and have called an international meeting in Libya July 15-16 to hopefully move the process along. Invitations have been sent to Sudan, Chad, Egypt, Eritrea, the Arab League, the US, and UN Security Council’s other four permanent members, as well as key donors. The hope is to begin negotiations towards ending this 4-year conflict that has killed more than 200,000 people and displaced 2.5 million.
Sudan has previously agreed to a UN-African Union hybrid peacekeeping force of 20,000 troops and police. However, this force is not expected to be in place until next year, when it will help the current 7,000 member AU force.
For more information, please see:
Reuters – Darfur Actors to Discuss Road Map for Peace – 11 July 2007
AllAfrica – Attacks On Aid Workers in Darfur Threatening Relief Efforts, Warns UN Official – 10 July 2007
Relief Web – The Humanitarian Community in Darfur Under Increasing Pressure – 10 July 2007
Reuters – Violence overwhelms relief workers in Darfur – 10 July 2007
Yahoo – Darfur Conference Called for Mid-July – 05 July 2007
