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Sudan

Sudan: Fighting in Darfur - Welthungerhilfe halts distribution

Bonn, 14.6.2006 - Deutsche Welthungerhilfe (German Agro Action) has been forced to halt its relief supplies in many areas of the Darfur region. 385,000 people will therefore not receive food rations in June and are thus at risk of starvation. The reason behind this is the fighting going on for weeks between various groups of the SLA, one of the most important rebel groups in the region effected by civil war. On the 5th May 2006 a peace treaty was signed by the government in Khartoum and the SLA. However, this was not recognised by all the rebel groups. Since then relief organisations have not been able to access SLA-dominated areas.

"If fighting between rebel factions doesn't stop soon then thousands of people will starve," warned regional coordinator, Johan van der Kamp. "Many people received their last monthly rations at the end of May and now have nothing left." The distribution of seed has also been stopped - just before the rainy season. This means people will be unable to sow the fields and that next year there will be no harvest.

Deutsche Welthungerhilfe is concerned that the standstill in distribution will cause another exodus of refugees. Until now even people in the remotest villages have been supplied with food, thereby avoiding the emergence of large refugee camps. "Now the risk is that people will abandon their villages in fear of starvation and take refuge in camps in the hope of finding food," says Van der Kamp.

Deutsche Welthungerhilfe has been active in Sudan since 1998, mainly in the provinces of northern Darfur, western Kordofan and Unity State. In northern Darfur we supply 485,000 people with food. In Unity State that figure is 185,000. Other focal points of our projects are agriculture, securing food and drinking water supplies.

For further information

Ioanna Rimpa
Information und Politik
Deutsche Welthungerhilfe e. V.
Friedrich-Ebert-Straße 1
D-53173 Bonn

Tel.: ++49 / (0) 22 8 / 22 88-207
Fax: ++49 / (0) 22 8 / 22 88-188
Email: ioanna.rimpa@dwhh.de