Rebels in Darfur keep thousands from getting food

True story. Rebels in Darfur keep thousands from getting food (AP report by Alfred de Montesquiou 14 Dec 2006 via WS). Excerpt:

Violence has been increasing. Last month, in the worst looting yet, Arab tribal fighters known as janjaweed ripped apart a WFP warehouse and took 800 tons of food in the rebel stronghold of Bir Maza as government forces assaulted the town.

More than 200 U.N. and aid workers have had to leave remote outposts, and refugee camps and some of the region's main towns - like the North Darfur capital of El Fasher, which last week was also looted by janjaweed.

Meanwhile, some 200 World Food Program trucks are being blocked by the government from reaching Darfur, said Kenro Oshidari, the Sudan director for the U.N. agency.

"Food security is one of the most basic human rights, and it's constantly being challenged in Darfur," Oshidari said.