Zam Zam Camp February 2010
This weekend Reuters reported an attack in Darfur that displaced 12,000 civilians.
Sudan’s army has clashed with insurgents in the South Darfur village of Khor Abeche at least three times this month, drawing sharp criticism from U.N. envoys.
“The Mission has noticed that approximately 12,000 people fled the area and are moving toward Shangil Tobaya and Zam Zam internally displaced persons camp, near El Fasher, North Darfur,” said Darfur’s UNAMID peacekeepers in a statement.
Another news report carried a sharp response from the White House in Washington:
Mike Hammer, a spokesman for the U.S. National Security Council, said Sudanese authorities have the responsibility to protect its citizens, condemning the attack in the strongest terms.
“The United States is deeply concerned about reports that the Sudanese armed forces attacked and burnt the village of Khor Abeche in South Darfur,” he said in a statement.
Save Darfur is closely monitoring this situation and condemns acts of violence against civilians by any party. It appears that clashes between Sudanese armed forces and the rebel faction led by Minni Minawi led to this displacement.
Thinking of thousands of civilians fleeing north to Shangil Tobaya and Zam Zam camps hits home for me since I traveled to this area in February 2010 on a human rights assessment and met the tribal leaders of Zam Zam camp. At the time, SLA-Minni Minawi forces were protecting Zam Zam camp in cooperation with UNAMID police forces based in El Fasher. This was the one camp I visited (compared to 5 others) where the the IDP’s thought UNAMID was doing a good job of protection. Now, with increasing violence between the SLA- Minni Minawi forces and the Government of Sudan forces, I fear for the safety of this camp where over 100,000 IDPs reside.
I took this photo of Zam Zam camp on a trip to Darfur in February 2010.
The opinions expressed here are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the position of the Save Darfur Coalition.
Tags: Darfur, Government of Sudan, IDPs, Khor Abeche, Shangil Tobaya, Sudan, Sudan Liberation Army Minni Minnawi, UNAMID, Zam Zam
