Agencies warn of impending disaster on Sudan’s disputed border
3 min readPeter Moszynski
+ Author Affiliations, Cite this as: BMJ 2011; 343:d5083
London
The withdrawal of peacekeepers from the UN Mission to Sudan after the founding of South Sudan as an independent country last month has led to mounting concern for the welfare of people displaced by fighting along the disputed new border.
Aid agencies warn that hundreds of thousands of people in the Nuba Mountains remain cut off from relief supplies, thousands more have been displaced, and there has been substantial loss of civilian lives. The Nuba Mountains are in the border state of South Kordofan, which remained part of Sudan after the creation of South Sudan but which has several pro-South Sudan ethnic groups.
A recent report by the UN mission said that the conduct of the Sudan Armed Forces (SAF) “has been especially egregious.”
It said, “Instead of distinguishing between civilians and combatants and accordingly directing their military operations only against military targets, the SAF and allied paramilitary forces have targeted membersand supporters of the [Sudan People’s Liberation Movement], most of whom are Nubans and other dark skinned people.”
Reported human rights violations included “aerial bombardments resulting in destruction of property; forced displacement; significant loss of civilian lives, including of women, children and the elderly; abductions; house-to-house searches; arbitrary arrests and detentions; targeted killings; summary executions; reports of mass graves; systematic destruction of dwellings and attacks on churches.”
The UN also observed “a well known National Security agent wearing a Sudan Red Crescent reflective vest intimidating internally displaced persons (IDPs).” When approached he said that “he had receivedinstructions from state-level authorities to move out IDPs from the UNMIS [UN Mission to Sudan] protective perimeter.”
On 4 August the UN protested to the Khartoum government after three Ethiopian peacekeepers who had been wounded by a landmine in the disputed Abyei district of South Kordofan died of their injuries while awaiting medical evacuation. Local authorities threatened to shoot down a UN helicopter, claiming it lacked clearance to evacuate the wounded.
An aid worker in the area, John Ashworth, told the BMJ: “Khartoum’s apparent indifference to the fate of injured UN peacekeepers is symptomatic of the regime’s attitude to human life and dignity in generaland is a clear indication of its indifference to the international community.”
He added, “The aid blockade of the Nuba Mountains by the Khartoum government is disastrous. Although many sources still quote a two month old UN figure of 73 000 displaced persons, sources on the ground indicate that the figure could now be as high as 400 000.
“Many are living in caves; there is inadequate food, water, and shelter; and the bombing is preventing them from cultivating their crops, so the food insecurity can only get worse.”
Caroline Cox, chief executive of the Humanitarian Aid Relief Trust, one of the few outside agencies still in the area, said, “It is impossible to obtain figures of dead and wounded, but first hand reports describe the murder of civilians deemed to be supporters of the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement, who are dragged from their homes, driven away in trucks, killed, and thrown into mass graves.”
She added, “Hospitals are trying to care for the injured, but access to humanitarian aid has been cut off by the SAF, creating an acute shortage of medical supplies and food.
“After Rwanda, world leaders said ‘never again.’ But ‘again’ is happening today. We cannot use the excuse that we do not know. The international community needs to respond immediately if it is not to be guilty of complicity in another genocide.”
Notes
Cite this as: BMJ 2011;343:d5083
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