UN warns of growing catastrophe in Sudan

UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan warned on Thursday that the security situation in Darfur continued to deteriorate.

In his latest monthly report on Darfur, he called it a "deeply disturbing trend" with "devastating effects on the civilian population".

"Civilians continue to pay an intolerably high price as a result of recurrent fighting by warring parties, the renewal of the scorched earth tactics by militia and massive military action by the government," he said in the report released on 29 December.



Photo: The destroyed village of Kamungo just east of Kabkabiya town, North Darfur State. (IRIN)

Some 3.4 million people continue to be affected by the conflict, according to the UN, of whom 1.8 million are internally displaced and 200,000 have fled to neighbouring Chad.

Note the Financial Times Jan 2, 2006 provides an excellent summary of Darfur news over past few months:

A new wave of violence in Sudan's Darfur region is a "shocking indication" of the international community's collective failure to stem "horrendous crimes" there, the United Nations has warned, amid daily reports that the killings continue unabated.

Despite regular Security Council discussions and an African Union (AU) mission, a new UN report says: "Large-scale attacks against civilians continue, women and girls are being raped by armed groups, yet more villages are being burned, and thousands more are being driven from their homes."

Its findings leave few doubts that the world's efforts to stem Sudan's catastrophe are not working, despite its leaders' assertion at last year's UN summit that all nations bore a "responsibility to protect" civilians from crimes against humanity. Full report.

Further details can be found by scrolling through Sudan Watch archives November and December 2005.