100K displaced in Sudan in recent weeks

About 100,000 people have fled their homes in Sudan’s southern region of Darfur due to increasing violence in the area over the last few weeks, a United Nations official has warned.

The United Nations peacekeeping chief Herve Ladsous told reporters on Wednesday that the upsurge of violence in the last six weeks has led to the displacement of thousands of people in the region.

Ladsous also warned on the deteriorating humanitarian crisis in Darfur, saying this adds to the nearly two million people, who have already been displaced in the region as a result of the conflict between the government and rebel groups.

According to reports, more than 400,000 people were displaced by the conflict last year.

Ladsous went on to say that he presented a proposal to the United Nations Security Council to improve the performance of the UN-African Union Mission in Darfur (UNAMID).

“This is precisely one of the goals of the major review I have just submitted to the Security Council,” he said, adding that he wanted the force to be better equipped, better placed while doing more in protecting civilians.

Ladsous’s comments echoed those by Navi Pillay, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, who raised concerns over the recent upsurge in violence in the region.

In a news release issued on Tuesday, Pillay criticized the disproportionate use of force by armed groups in areas in South Darfur that are not military targets and called for an immediate halt to hostilities against unarmed civilians.

Darfur has been the scene of bloodshed since 2003 when rebels took up arms against the Khartoum government.

The UN estimates that more than 300,000 people have died since the violence began in the region.

Sudan accuses South Sudan, which seceded from the Republic of Sudan in July 2011, of supporting anti-government rebels operating in the Darfur region and the states of Blue Nile and South Kordofan.