Sudan: the situation is "desperate" for civilians fleeing the fighting in Darfur, says UN

Tens of thousands of civilians who fled heavy fighting between government forces and rebels in the Jebel Marra region of Darfur in western Sudan are in a humanitarian situation “desperate”, said Sunday the UN.
Fighting in the mountainous area straddling the states of North Darfur, Darfur, Central and South Darfur broke out on January 15 between forces loyal to President Omar al-Bashir -Search by inetrnationale Criminal Court (ICC ) for war crimes in the conflict in Darfur and the Sudan liberation Army-Abdul Wahid Nur (SLA-AW), which fights since 2003.
The displaced are living in conditions “pretty desperate. They practically need everything “, told AFP the humanitarian coordinator of the UN in Sudan, Marta Ruedas.
The outbreak of violence “has resulted in the worst displacement of civilians which the UN has witnessed in the last decade” in the area of ​​Jebel Marra, scene of violent clashes in the past, she said.
“We can not know the exact number of displaced people, we could only check a small percentage” because of limited access to the conflict area, Ms. Ruedas said.
According to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), some 38,000 people have fled to North Darfur State. Darfur Centre, it is even more difficult to estimate the number of IDPs, estimated at some 50,000 people.
“It is the duty of the Sudanese government to facilitate the free and total access to all areas affected by the conflict,” stressed the UN independent expert on the situation of human rights in Sudan, Aristide Nononsi .
Jebel Marra is considered a stronghold of SLA-AW, one of the rebel groups fighting the regime of Bashir.
In 2003, non-Arab rebels rose up to demand an end to the “economic marginalization” of Darfur and power-sharing with the Khartoum government dominated by Arabs. Since then, fighting has not stopped even if they are sometimes less intense.
Bashir is wanted since 2009 by the ICC on charges of war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide in the region.