Dramatic Major 'Meltdown' in Darfur
Pastor Dale Morgan
Dramatic Major 'Meltdown' in Darfur*
POSTED: 0138 GMT (0938 HKT), November 23, 2006
UNITED NATIONS (CNN) -- Citing a "dramatic deterioration" of the
situation in Darfur, the top U.N. humanitarian official said a crisis is
approaching for the region in Sudan that could cost millions of lives.
"I was there in 2004 when there was 1 million people in need," Jan
Egeland, the U.N. emergency relief coordinator, told reporters. "2005, 2
million ... in the spring, 3 million. And now there are 4 million in
desperate need of humanitarian assistance."
Egeland briefed the U.N. Security Council Wednesday on Darfur.
In a report from Reuters, Egeland also accused Sudan of deliberately
hindering relief aid in Darfur, attacking villages and arming brutal
militia to combat rebels and bandits.
Egeland told the Security Council that international relief operations
were threatened by government obstruction and members needed to talk to
Sudanese officials immediately as well as put pressure on those sending
arms to rebels.
"The next weeks may be make or break for our lifeline to more than 3
million people," Egeland said in the Reuters report. "This period may
well be the last opportunity for this Council, the government of Sudan,
the African Union, the rebels, and all of us to avert a humanitarian
disaster of much larger proportions than even the one we so far have
witnessed in Darfur."
Part of the problem, Egeland said, is a "meltdown in security. The
humanitarians are confined to the towns. We cannot even reach many of
the camps."
Meanwhile, U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan said Wednesday that
negotiations continue on whether Sudan will allow U.N. peacekeepers to
be stationed in Darfur, and that he is waiting to hear from Sudanese
President Omer Hassan Al-Bashir.
"I spoke to President Bashir today," Annan said, "and he indicated that
he will be writing to me shortly. And I think I should wait for his
letter." (Full story)
Last week, the United Nations said Sudan had agreed "in principle" to a
plan that would station U.N. peacekeepers and African Union troops as a
hybrid operation in Darfur. But Sudanese officials denied that, saying
they would only accept technical and logistics support from the United
Nations.
U.N. officials say at least 200,000 people have been slain in Darfur
from fighting between government-backed troops, militias and rebels.
Millions of others have been displaced.
The attacks by militias who support the Arab government against blacks
in Darfur have been characterized as a genocide.
In late August, the U.N. Security Council adopted Resolution 1706, which
expands the mandate of the U.N. mission in Sudan to include its
deployment to Darfur.
"The failure is one of the government not being willing to protect its
own citizens, rather fueling the conflict; of rebels not wanting to join
the cease-fire; and of the international community, which is not living
up to the responsibility to protect, which was solemnly sworn in this
building one year ago," Egeland said.
The 4 million he mentioned, Egeland said, "are dependent on
international assistance to survive the future. There is no economy.
There are no nomadic roots anymore. There is nothing to sustain them
except the international lifeline.
"Up until August, we were able to -- against all odds -- to reach up to
3 million of these people," he said. "Most of the people got assistance,
and mortality decreased because of this -- the best-funded operation on
Earth ... all of that is now at risk," he said.
"Ninety-five percent of the roads in west Darfur are no-go at the
moment. We cannot go by road, except with massive military escort, and
there will be hundreds of thousands who are beyond our reach and where
we seem to have little hope of resuming activities unless we see a
dramatic change for the better. But the reality is that the change is
for the worse."