Sudanese army surrounds Darfur refugee camps

THE Sudanese army and police have surrounded refugee camps in the war- torn region of Darfur and denied access to humanitarian groups, the UN said yesterday.

“It started at 3am without warning. Agencies have been denied access to these camps since this morning,” said Christiane Berthiaume, spokeswoman for the World Food Programme (WFP).

At least 160,000 refugees in western Darfur cannot be reached by road “because of insecurity”, she added.

The UN food agency has relocated 88 aid workers from three camps in the Nyala region: Golu, Zaleinge and Nertetie. Most of those evacuees are working for independent aid organisations rather than the UN, Ms Berthiaume said. The agency still has three workers in Zaleinge and Nertetie, but may yet evacuate them.

The WFP is concerned government forces may start relocating people in the camps back to their villages, where there is less protection from government- backed militias known as Janjaweed, she said.

Refugees fear the move may be government revenge for the kidnapping of 18 Sudanese of Arab origin between Zaleinge and Nyala last week.

Aid workers and UN officials in Sudan have confirmed violence in Zaleinge, as Arab tribes have demanded international agencies secure the hostages’ release.

A deadline for their release expired on Sunday.

The Sudanese government has accused the rebel Sudan Liberation Army of the kidnappings, while rebels claimed Janjaweed ordered 30 ethnic Africans from a bus on Sunday and shot them to death.

The UN suspended all field missions because of the kidnapping and violence, Ron Redmond, spokesman for the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, said.

“Along with other international organisations, we have had to cancel missions to the field planned for this week,” he said.