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United Nations Urges More Security for Displaced at Sudan Camp
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Nov 26, 2008 - 7:18:11 AM

United Nations Urges More Security for Displaced at Sudan Camp

By Heba Aly

Nov. 26 (Bloomberg) -- A camp for Sudanese people displaced by fighting in the western Darfur region needs more protection, the United Nations� humanitarian chief said.

At least 33 civilians died and 108 were wounded at the Kalma camp in August when government security forces opened fire on its occupants. Sudan�s government claimed police were responding to fire from inside the camp, which houses more than 80,000 people. The UN-led peacekeeping mission in Darfur, known as Unamid, has since increased its presence in the area.

�Unamid police are now patrolling the camp on a round the clock basis, which has helped people to feel safer,� John Holmes, UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, said in a statement e-mailed after he visited the camp. �But we still need to do more, not least to ensure women can feel safe as they move in and out of the camp.�

Holmes is on a six-day tour of Sudan that began yesterday in Darfur. At least 300,000 people are estimated to have died and about 3 million forced to flee their homes in the region since 2003, when mostly non-Arab rebels took up arms against the Arab-dominated government complaining of marginalization.

Unamid has long complained that it is short of the troops and equipment -- especially military helicopters -- required to carry out its duties. Almost a year after it began deploying, less than half the mandated 26,000 soldiers, police and staff are on the ground.

To contact the reporter on this story: Heba Aly in Khartoum via Johannesburg at [email protected].