24.10.2008 - Source: BBC News

Article on living conditions in IDP camps in Darfur ("Bad to worse") [ID 25147]

Document(s): Open document

02.10.2008 - Source: Integrated Regional Information Network

North Darfur: Weeks after fighting between government and rebel forces, aid workers have yet to reach thousands of displaced civilians in nearby mountains and forests; acts of violence, such as robberies and hijacking of aid vehicles seem to remain prevalent ("IDPs out of reach as violence hinders agencies") [ID 25002]

Document(s): Open document

12.09.2008 - Source: ReliefWeb

Northern Darfur: The Sudan Liberation Movement Minawi Faction has said that scores of families have fled from Zamzam IDPs' Camp at the wake of an alleged attack by police ("Sudan: Tens of people fled from Zamzam camp"), Author: Miraya FM [ID 24997]

Document(s): Open document

26.08.2008 - Source: Integrated Regional Information Network

Darfur: Police continued to surround one of the largest sites for internally displaced people, a day after gunfire caused dozens of injuries and, according to some sources, numerous fatalities ("Volatile IDP site needs a lasting solution, UN") [ID 24568]

Document(s): Open document

26.08.2008 - Source: Daily Star

Darfur: At least 25 people killed and more than 100 wounded in a firefight at a refugee camp ("Scores dead as battle erupts in Darfur refugee camp"), Author: Agence France-Presse (AFP) [ID 24569]

Document(s): Open document

25.08.2008 - Source: ReliefWeb

Darfur: Up to 27 people killed and scores wounded when Sudanese forces attacked refugee camp ("Sudan forces kill 27 in Darfur camp clash-rebels"), Author: Reuters Foundation [ID 24566]

Document(s): Open document

25.08.2008 - Source: BBC News

Darfur: Troops open fire in a refugee camp, leaving 27 dead, rebels say ("Sudan 'kills refugees in Darfur'") [ID 24567]

Document(s): Open document

07.2008 - Source: Human Rights Watch

Abyei: Report on the fighting between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement/Army (SPLM/A) in May 2008 (background, outbreak of fighting, killing of civilians, displacement) ("Abandoning Abyei - Destruction and Displacement, May 2008") [ID 24085]

"60,000 people fled during and after fighting between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Sudan People's Liberation Movement/Army (SPLM/A) in the politically disputed town of Abyei in May 2008, in which SAF and SAF supported militia also deliberately killed civilians and carried out massive looting and destruction of the town.

More than half the homes in Abyei were burned to the ground and the market was completely destroyed.

The parties reached an agreement to restore security on June 7, but have been slow to implement it.

Meanwhile tens of thousands of civilians are still internally displaced, and the area remains tense.

Two months after the fighting, the number of civilian fatalities and the circumstances of their deaths are still unknown.

A full and independent investigation into the alleged violations has so far not been possible because SAF forces restricted access to Abyei in the weeks following the fighting.

In addition the National Congress Party (NCP) and the SPLM - the dominant parties in central government and the Government of Southern Sudan (GOSS) respectively - have made no significant efforts towards establishing accountability for human rights violations and violations of international humanitarian law (IHL) in Abyei.

Displaced people, however, are vocal in their call for accountability.

The political and administrative status of oil-rich Abyei is one of the most contentious outstanding issues in the implementation of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA), the 2005 agreement between Khartoum and the SPLM that brought an end to 20 years of civil war.

Abyei, an area populated by ethnically Southern Sudanese Ngok Dinka, and on a seasonal basis by Arab Misseriya cattle-herding nomads, remains a potential flashpoint as Khartoum, GOSS and local communities position themselves ahead of a local referendum scheduled for 2011.

The referendum will decide whether Abyei will join Southern Sudan or will remain part of South Kordofan state (administratively part of the North). [...]

Witnesses who fled from Abyei told Human Rights Watch that SAF soldiers shot civilians as they ran and detained and then arbitrarily killed others.

Their testimony suggests that at least 18 civilians were killed in the fighting.

In the days that followed the fighting, government soldiers and Misseriya militia looted and torched the market and civilian houses in Abyei town.

By May 17 all of the market and more than half the homes in Abyei were completely destroyed, yet the destruction and looting continued into late June.

Soldiers and militia also robbed and severely damaged the compounds and property of UN agencies and NGOs who had been supporting post-conflict reconstruction and humanitarian assistance in Abyei.

Almost the entire population of Abyei fled.

While some 10,000 fled to the north, the rest - some 50,000 people - fled south to Twic County in Southern Sudan.

In mid July they were still living in temporary shacks or crowded into homes with other families."

Document(s): Report
Press Release

06.06.2008 - Source: Child Rights Information Network

Eastern Chad: According to a human rights organisation, thousands of child refugees from Darfur, some as young as 9 years, are being abducted from camps and sold to militias as child soldiers; UN estimated in 2007 that between 7,000 and 10,000 child soldiers had been forcibly recruited in Chad ("Child refugees being sold to militias"), Author: Waging Peace [ID 23855]

Document(s): Open document

04.06.2008 - Source: US Department of State

Children are unlawfully conscripted, at times through abduction, and utilised by armed groups; child recruitment among communities of IDPs reported; some children are trafficked across borders into neighbouring countries ("Trafficking in Persons Report 2008") [ID 23848]

"The terrorist rebel organization, Lord's Resistance Army (LRA), continues to harbor small numbers of Sudanese and Ugandan children in the southern part of the country for use as cooks, porters, and combatants;

some of these children are also trafficked across borders into Uganda or the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

In March 2007, six Sudanese girls were abducted by the LRA near Maridi, Western Equatoria.

Sudanese children are unlawfully conscripted, at times through abduction, and utilized by armed rebel groups - including all SLA factions, the Popular Defense Forces, Janjaweed militia, and Chadian opposition forces - in Sudan's ongoing conflict in Darfur; the Sudanese Armed Forces and associated militias also continue to exploit young children in this region.

There were confirmed reports of unlawful child recruitment in mid-2007 by the JEM/Peace Wing among communities of internally displaced persons in Dereig, South Darfur. [...]

Forcible recruitment of adults and articularly children by virtually all armed groups involved in Sudan's concluded north-south civil war was commonplace; thousands of children still associated with these forces await demobilization and reintegration into their communities of origin."

Document(s): Country Narratives: S through Z
Full Report

28.05.2008 - Source: Amnesty International

Rape continued to be widespread in 2007; several internally displaced women were raped as they went to collect firewood; FGM continued to be practised in Northern Sudan ("Annual Report 2008") [ID 23352]

"Rape continued to be widespread, especially of displaced women and girls collecting firewood outside their camps.

Sometimes women were beaten, or attacked but managed to escape. They rarely reported what happened to the police.

Men continued to leave the task of collecting firewood to women because the men feared being killed if they ventured outside the camps.

Several internally displaced women, including teenage girls, were raped as they went outside IDP camps in Zalingei to collect firewood in the second half of 2007.

In August a woman was raped who was already eight months pregnant.

Female genital mutilation continued to be systematically practised in northern Sudan."

Document(s): Open document
Open document

28.05.2008 - Source: Amnesty International

Darfur: About 35 IDPs arrested; most of detainees were beaten during arrest and held in incommunicado detention ("Annual Report 2008") [ID 23356]

"In August police and NISS surrounded Kalma camp near Nyala in Darfur and arrested about 35 displaced people, after two police had reportedly been killed.

Most detainees were beaten during arrest and afterwards at Nyala Wasat police station where they were held in prolonged incommunicado detention.

They were released in October without being charged or tried."

Document(s): Open document
Open document

21.05.2008 - Source: ReliefWeb

Darfur: Report on situation of internally displaced people (IDPs) (history and current situation) ("Sudan: Internally displaced persons in Darfur - taking stock"), Author: Brookings-Bern Project on Internal Displacement [ID 23343]

Document(s): Open document

11.03.2008 - Source: US Department of State

Darfur: IDPs mistreated, raped and sexually abused by security forces ("Country Report on Human Rights Practices 2007") [ID 22822]

"Security forces beat IDPs.

For example, on October 28, security forces entered Otash IDP camp in South Darfur and used sticks and rubber hoses to forcibly move IDPs who had fled there from a neighboring camp.

There was a clear and documented pattern of rape and sexual abuse directed at IDPs of all ages in Darfur."

Document(s): Open document

11.03.2008 - Source: US Department of State

Women in IDP camps often arrested for producing and selling home-brewed alcohol; they can be imprisoned up to 6 months under the Sharia law ("Country Report on Human Rights Practices 2007") [ID 23004]

"Security forces often targeted southern women in IDP camps because they produced and sold traditional home‑brewed alcohol; these women were arrested and imprisoned for up to six months under Shari'a law.

Some women were held in prison until they could pay the fine, regardless of time served in prison, thereby effectively serving indefinite sentences."

Document(s): Open document

11.03.2008 - Source: US Department of State

Government forces attack and threaten IDPs; more people forcibly resettled or displaced; IDPs continue to suffer from lack of water, sanitation and health facilities ("Country Report on Human Rights Practices 2007") [ID 23048]

"In Darfur, throughout the year, government armed forces and aligned militia continued to bomb and burn villages, loot property, and attack IDP camps [...].

Police often entered IDP areas without a warrant in search of illegal alcohol brewing and often seized property unrelated to brewing. Police also extorted money from illegal alcohol brewers by threatening them with prison. [...]

In several areas the government sought to forcibly resettle or displace local populations.

In 2006, in Northern State, nomads in the areas around Sani, Burti Gareb, Kurkoban, and Sherri Island complained that the government's Merowe Dam Project Implementation Unit seized their traditional grazing land without compensation and gave it to a foreign construction company, denying the nomads access to water wells in the area.

Armed police continued to prevent the nomads from using the land or water throughout the year.

During the year no suitable alternate site was found for the 12,000 persons displaced during the August 2006 demolition of a squatter camp in Gezira State.

Despite a lack of water, sanitation, and health facilities at the relocation site, the government rejected humanitarian assistance, according to UN sources.

The government promised to provide land to relocated persons, but administrative problems and a requirement to provide a marriage certificate limited the prospects of land ownership for the most vulnerable, particularly for female headed households.

During the first six months of the year, police detained at least 11 residents on charges of illegally squatting on the relocation site."

Document(s): Open document

11.03.2008 - Source: US Department of State

Darfur: Rape and other forms of sexual violence remain widespread and systematic; the majority of victims are women and girls living in IDP camps ("Country Report on Human Rights Practices 2007") [ID 23052]

"The UN's International Commission of Inquiry in Darfur found in 2005 that "rape or other forms of sexual violence committed by the janjaweed and government soldiers in Darfur was widespread and systematic."

This trend continued during the year.

The majority of victims were women and girls who lived in IDP camps and were raped when they left their camps to gather firewood, water, or food.

Women often described the perpetrators as "men in uniform", either government or rebel soldiers.

Rape victims were almost always beaten, threatened with death, and subjected to racial epithets during attacks.

In some cases attackers killed their victims.

In April four armed men dressed in camouflage uniforms raped two young women who were collecting firewood outside the Kassab IDP camp. The women were whipped and raped for several hours before being released.

According to UNMIS, on August 13, seven government soldiers raped an 18-year-old woman from an Arab tribe in El Fasher, North Darfur. The victim stated that she was walking home when approached by a group of soldiers, who beat her and then took her to a tent close to a SAF checkpoint, where they raped her for three hours.

According to a November report by the UN Human Rights Council, UN agencies documented 46 victims of sexual violence from June to October.

The UN estimated that the number of victims of sexual violence was actually significantly higher due to limited access to certain areas and underreporting of abuses.

Authorities, particularly the police, often obstructed access to justice for rape victims. [...]

[...] significant problems remained, including the harassment and intimidation by police of rape victims, lack of investigations into rape allegations, and the continued impunity of the police in Darfur.

During the year, there were no successful prosecutions for rape in Darfur."

Document(s): Open document

11.03.2008 - Source: US Department of State

Darfur: Number of IDPs increased; government provides little assistance or protection to IDPs; IDPs subjected to rape and other forms of sexual violence, beaten and abused by government forces ("Country Report on Human Rights Practices 2007") [ID 23053]

"The UN estimated that at least 2.2 million persons had been displaced by the conflict in Darfur and that another 231,000 persons had fled to Chad.

Despite the signing of the DPA in May 2006, continued attacks and violence in Darfur, perpetrated by all parties to the conflict, resulted in hundreds of thousands of new displacements, and some existing IDPs were displaced for the second or third time.

For example, the UN estimated that the number of newly displaced IDPs increased by approximately 250,000 between January and July due to increased fighting and insecurity.

In the second week of October, the UN and other agencies reported that intense fighting in Muhajeria, South Darfur resulted in the displacement of 40,000.

Darfur IDPs did not return in any significant numbers to their place of origin, although small scale spontaneous returns to certain villages occurred.

Hundreds of thousands of persons, largely southerners and westerners displaced by famine and civil war, continued to live in squatter slums around Khartoum.

The government provided little assistance or protection to IDPs.

In Darfur, local police established checkpoints near some IDP camps, though police made little effort to provide security. [...]

There were numerous reports of abuses committed against IDPs, including rapes, beatings, and attempts by the government to forcibly return persons to their homes, or to alternative IDP camps and other sites.

There were credible reports that the government harassed IDPs in Darfur who spoke with foreign observers, especially high-profile foreigners, demanding to know the content of their discussions.

The government occasionally blocked commercial and road access to IDP camps, purportedly for security reasons.

Insecurity in Darfur, especially outside of IDP camps, restricted IDPs' freedom of movement; women and girls who left the town risked sexual violence.

The government forced or coerced IDPs to return to their villages by promising food and money; however, most IDPs who returned to the villages to receive the assistance later returned to the IDP camps.

The government forced IDPs to relocate to alternative IDP camps or other sites."

Document(s): Open document

11.03.2008 - Source: US Department of State

School enrolment among IDPs remains low ("Country Report on Human Rights Practices 2007") [ID 23258]

"While school enrollment among IDPs and in nomadic communities remained low, there was an increase in student numbers during the year.

Approximately half of school-age IDPs in Khartoum were enrolled in school.

According to the Sudan Household Health Survey, approximately 750,000 of the 1,750,000 children of primary school age in Darfur were enrolled."

Document(s): Open document

31.01.2008 - Source: Human Rights Watch

Darfur: Throughout the year 2007, parties on all sides of the conflict committed atrocities against civilians; summary of attacks on civilians, IDPs, troops and humanitarian organisations by government forces and rebel groups within 2007 ("World Report 2008") [ID 22189]

"The proliferation of rebel groups, which clashed with each other as well as with government military and allied forces, not only challenged peace initiatives but also created an increasingly unpredictable situation on the ground for civilians, peacekeepers and humanitarian agencies.

Throughout the year, parties on all sides of the conflict committed atrocities against civilians.

The Sudanese government played a central role in fomenting the chaos, both continuing to carry out direct attacks on civilians and failing to rein in or hold accountable individuals responsible for abuses.

In July the government finally consented to the deployment of a joint African Union-United Nations "hybrid" peacekeeping force for Darfur.

However, throughout the rest of the year progress towards deployment was dogged by Sudanese government obstruction, bureaucratic delays, and the slow pace of military contributions to the force.

The government made no genuine efforts to address the impunity with which abuses have been carried out. [...]

In late 2006 the government renewed bombing, striking areas under rebel control in North Darfur on an almost daily basis.

Government-backed militias also attacked the civilian population throughout Darfur, even in camps for internally displaced persons.

Prior to peace talks in October 2007 there was once again an increase in violence, including major attacks on the towns of Haskanita and Muhajariya.

In May 2006 Sudan Liberation Army (SLA)-Minawi rebel leader Minni Minawi signed the Darfur Peace Agreement with the government and was subsequently appointed Special Assistant to the President, but residents of North Darfur increasingly complain about abuses carried out by his forces.

These abuses - and clashes between rebel groups and SLA-Minawi fighters - caused thousands to flee from the Korma and Tawila areas of North Darfur to displaced persons camps.

Since January 2007 fighting among Arab groups has also left more than 200 people dead and forced thousands more to flee.

More than 250,000 civilians were newly displaced in the first nine months of 2007 alone, bringing the total displaced population in Darfur to more than 2.2 million.

While large scale attacks drive people into IDP camps, ongoing violence keeps them there. The camps themselves are becoming increasingly violent with no guarantee of safety.

Sexual violence in particular continues to be a feature of everyday life for women and girls.

The African Union Mission to Sudan (AMIS) has also come under attack. On September 30, 2007 unidentified forces attacked an African Union base in Haskanita, South Darfur, killing 10 AMIS peacekeepers.

After almost five years of conflict, more than four million people - two thirds of the population of Darfur - depend on humanitarian assistance.

However, humanitarian operations continue to be hampered by insecurity. The UN estimated that in June 2007 one in every six relief convoys that left provincial capitals was attacked, either by Janjaweed, rebels, or bandits.

Twelve humanitarian workers were killed in the first nine months of 2007."

Document(s): Open document

16.01.2008 - Source: Institute for War and Peace Reporting

Juba: More than 3,000 people moved into the Mondikolog camp in 2006; four other camps (Igulla, Okitiri, Lobonok and Rajaf) also contain large numbers of refugees, all displaced by the LRA, officials say ("Forgotten Victims of the LRA") [ID 22021]

Document(s): Open document

01.2008 - Source: Amnesty International

Darfur: Report on the situation of internally displaced people (the danger round the camps and inside the camps, rape of women, youth, relocation and returns, protection) ("Displaced in Darfur - A generation of anger [AFR 54/001/2008]") [ID 22532]

Document(s): Open document

19.12.2007 - Source: ReliefWeb

Report on nutrition, health and mortality of children up to 5 years of age in camps for internally displaced persons and in villages of Renk, Jelhak, Shomedi and Geiger Payams in Renk County, Upper Nile State ("Sudan: Nutritional anthropometric survey, 11 Sep - 18 Oct 2007"), Author: Action Against Hunger - USA [ID 21844]

Document(s): Open document

14.12.2007 - Source: World Health Organization

Facts on medical care for Internally Displaced People (IDPs) in West Darfur ("Medical Care for the Internally Displaced People in West Darfur State") [ID 21833]

Document(s): Open document

13.12.2007 - Source: Refugees International

Darfur: Displaced people continue to languish in camps unprotected from violent attacks and are increasingly cut off from humanitarian assistance; humanitarian workers have become easy targets of all sides (attacks by rebel groups, armed militias, and bandits, expulsions by government, resource-draining bureaucratic impediments) ("Humanitarian Action Still Under Fire in Darfur") [ID 21832]

Document(s): Open document

28.11.2007 - Source: UN Human Rights Council (formerly UN Commission on Human Rights)

South Darfur: Violent clashes between Fur and Zaghawa IDPs and other ethnic groups in Kalma camp; Zaghawa and Massalit IDPs were detained and beaten by armed Fur men and children ("Final report on the situation of human rights in Darfur prepared by the group of experts mandated by the Human Rights Council in its resolution 4/8, presided by the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Sudan and composed of the Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions, the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for children and armed conflict, the Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences, the Special Representative of the Secretary-General on the situation of human rights defenders, the Representative of the Secretary-General on the human rights of internally displaced persons and the Special Rapporteur on the question of torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment [A/HRC/6/19]") [ID 24046]

"In Kalma camp (South Darfur), a number of violent incidents broke out between Fur and Zaghawa IDPs following incidents that took place from 16 - 19 October 2007 during which three IDPs were killed and seven wounded.

Efforts by the Government to enter the camp were met with violent resistance. Humanitarian agencies were obliged to evacuate the camp. [...]

Violent incidents reported to have occurred inside Kalma camp between 18-23 October 2007, included attacks on civilians in market areas, restrictions on movements within the camp among tribal lines, as well as of those attempting to leave or return.

Much of the violence reported has been attributed to armed Fur, including children, against other tribes in the camp.

Four Zaghawa men were reported killed and one wounded on 18 October 2007.

The perpetrators were not identified.

Also on 18 October, a group of 30 armed and uniformed Fur men reportedly ordered shopkeepers in a Kalma market to close.

They shot in the air, destroyed some shop displays and provoked civilians to flee.

On 19 October, the same group returned in greater number and beat civilians.

On 20 October, groups of men armed with riffles and children armed with sticks from the Fur community organized in four sectors of the camp, where they implemented road blocks between the sectors to control the movement of IDPs along tribal lines, beating and arresting those from outside the Fur community.

Additional reports were received that Zaghawa and Massaliet IDPs were detained and beaten by armed Fur men and children."

Document(s): Open document

26.11.2007 - Source: International Crisis Group

Situation in IDP camps in Darfur: Fighting continues to cause displacement; malnutrition rates on the rise; camps are overcrowded, awash with weapons and banditry ("Darfur's New Security Reality") [ID 22314]

"Since the DPA signature, more than half a million people have been displaced, bringing total IDPs to nearly 2.2 million.

For the first time since 2004, the humanitarian community reports a rise in malnutrition rates, with those in North Darfur and elsewhere higher than emergency levels. [...]

Fighting between rebel groups, the government and government-related forces continues to cause displacement.

Camps are overcrowded, and agencies overstretched and under attack.

The camps reflect the insecurity at large and are home to a disempowered, disenfranchised, overcrowded community with little hope.

In past peace efforts, the mediation considered that IDPs were represented by the rebels and the Arabs by the government but the rebel groups, the NCP and DPA signatories are all now making the camps a new conflict theatre, awash with weapons and banditry.

Though he denied the camps were becoming rebel bases, UN Emergency Relief Coordinator John Holmes said, "[t]he politicisation and militarisation on the ground is a fact of life you can't ignore".

On 17 November, UN Special Envoy Jan Elliason admitted that fresh arms are pouring into the IDP camps in Darfur and that the IDP leaders are becoming more organised to exert pressure and raise political demands, and expressed concern that they might take extreme positions.

In camps around El Fasher, local authorities are selecting, arming and training groups. Allegedly, they are working with Minni's forces in the area, as many in the El Fasher camps are his sympathisers.

In the camps around Zalingei, for example, there has been severe insecurity.

Over the past six months, twenty assassinations or attempted assassinations (pitting suspected rebel sympathisers against suspected government sympathisers) were reported; an IDP suspected of working for the national security agency was shot; guards have been fired at; the deputy sheikh was killed; and camp operations were suspended because of demonstrations and rumours of kidnappings of international aid workers.

Kalma camp, in South Darfur, is considered one of the most volatile and politicised, with high levels of murders, assassinations and vigilante justice.

In mid-August, armed men seized weapons from a police post near Al Salam camp, killing a policeman, and took them to Kalma.

The government mobilised Border Guards and Central Contingency units to raid the camp, searching for the weapons and rebels. They found the weapons and arrested twenty people, whom they called common criminals, not rebels.

In the run-up to the talks in Libya, violence around the camps increased, with three government soldiers reportedly killed at Hamadiya camp near Zalingei and an alleged government attack on Kalma camp."

Document(s): Open document

26.11.2007 - Source: International Crisis Group

Darfur: Government pushes IDPs to leave camps; IDPs refuse to return, say they will not go home until those they trust tell them to leave ("Darfur's New Security Reality") [ID 22315]

"The government is aware that the IDPs' plight galvanises world opinion, keeping Darfur in the spotlight; part of its strategy has been to push IDPs to leave the camps.

In the past several months it has also severely ratcheted up pressure on non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and the UN to empty the camps, accusing them of not doing enough to encourage returns and insinuating they are prolonging the crisis for ulterior motives.

The government has proposed locations for 25 "model villages" as areas of return, some where there had been no habitation.

When President Bashir visited Darfur in July 2007, a key message was to push for emptying the camps.

He promised his state governors development money and instructed them to start an IDP return program, in light of the "peaceful" conditions in the areas of return.

Upon his departure, Sudanese media reported returns of thousands of IDPs, in blatant contradiction of the facts on the ground.

Government efforts have failed, due to the complete mistrust of the IDPs, many of whom have said they will not go home until those they do trust say it is time.

This can mean internationals, but also leaders such as Abdel Wahid, who still commands great popularity among Fur IDPs, despite a less than stellar political record.

Though he has been out of Darfur, he has come to symbolise popular demands; many IDPs trust only him to represent them, a fact he has capitalised upon with the international community in regard to the negotiations.

In addition, most areas of return are unsafe, and many are currently held by fighting Arab tribes or are under siege from various armed elements.

Despite government promises, there is also little to return to.

Nevertheless government troops have allegedly been forcing IDPs out of a camp near Nyala. [...]"

Document(s): Open document

01.11.2007 - Source: Amnesty International

South Darfur: Security forces seized 36 people from Otash Camp for internally displaced persons (IDPs) on 29 October 2007; they are in danger of being tortured or ill-treated in detention ("Urgent Action 281/07 [AFR 54/058/2007]") [ID 21760]

"According to UN figures 2.2 million people in Darfur are now gathered in IDP camps.

They were driven out of their homes when, in response to attacks by armed opposition groups, the government armed and supported local militias, known as the Janjawid, as a proxy force.

The government and the Janjawid attempted to suppress the insurgency by deliberately targeting civilians of the same ethnicity as the armed opposition groups.

About 95,000 people have been killed, and more than 200,000 have died over the past four years as a result of conflict-related hunger or disease.

Vast areas of Darfur have been emptied of farmers, and hundreds of villages have been razed to the ground.

The UN has issued a statement expressing alarm at the violence against IDPs and the attempted forcible relocations in Otash Camp.

IDPs have complained that attempts by the SAF and police to forcibly relocate them away from some camps have been increasing over the past few months.

Government officials say that camps are too large. IDPs feel safer in the camps and have consistently resisted government pressure to move out of them into areas which are still dominated by armed members of the Janjawid militias who killed and displaced them.

Forcible relocation is prohibited by international standards."

Document(s): Open document

09.2007 - Source: Amnesty International

Sexual violence in Darfur: Rape and sexual violence continue to be carried out with impunity ("Darfur: ‘When Will They Protect Us?’ Civilians trapped by violence in Sudan [AFR 54/043/2007]") [ID 22017]

"Rape and sexual slavery continue to be carried out with complete impunity.

On 26 December 2006, Deribat, an SLA stronghold, was attacked by armed men on horses and camels, accompanied by vehicles and aircraft. The people fled to the hills. About 50 women were abducted and taken to a dry river bed where they were surrounded by armed men and systematically raped.

Many children watched what happened to their mothers and some were raped themselves.

The women were held as sex slaves and also had to cook and serve food for their captors.

Women interviewed by UN human rights investigators were held for about a month; some escaped after an SLA attack.

The UN named commanders and members of the PDF in connection with the violence, and Fur men belonging to the SLA/Abu'l-Gasim faction were also said by witnesses to be involved.

Displaced women and girls in camps are vulnerable if they go outside to collect firewood or go to market, and also face rising violence within camps and within their families.

Hundreds of rapes were recorded by the UN and NGOs. Three of the women raped were relief workers."

Document(s): Open document

09.2007 - Source: Amnesty International

IDP camps in Darfur: Increasing politicisation and militarisation in camps; domestic violence rising; recent attacks on camps ("Darfur: ‘When Will They Protect Us?’ Civilians trapped by violence in Sudan [AFR 54/043/2007]") [ID 22020]

"Within the displaced camps, which are constantly expanding beyond their capacity, there is increasing politicization and militarization.

Frustrated young men, bitter against the government of Sudan and mistrustful of outside forces, turn to armed groups.

Leaving the camp is still risky, especially for women, and violence within families is reportedly rising.

The camps also come under attack from outside. On many occasions members of Janjawid groups have terrorized camps, kidnapping civilians and demanding cattle and ransom.

On 21 August 2007, after two policemen were killed, hundreds of police, army and Border Intelligence Guards raided Kalma Camp near Nyala, which was sheltering more than 90,000 people.

As they entered the camp they beat displaced people with gun butts, looted shelters and arrested some 35 displaced men.

The police took the detainees to Nyala, where they were tortured."

Document(s): Open document

23.05.2007 - Source: Amnesty International

Darfur: Scores of displaced people detained in May 2006 during demonstrations against Darfur Peace Agreement (DPA) in numerous IDP camps ("Annual Report 2007") [ID 20083]

"Scores of displaced people were detained in May during demonstrations and riots against the DPA in numerous IDP camps in Darfur.

Mohammed Osman Mohammed and two others were arrested after police fired live ammunition at protesters in Otash IDP camp in May.

The same day, police used excessive force against scores of demonstrators, including women, as they carried a memorandum of concerns about the DPA to the UN office in Nyala.

Scores were arrested and 25 remained in detention awaiting trial at the end of 2006."

Document(s): Open document
Open document

23.05.2007 - Source: Amnesty International

Ongoing forced evictions and home demolitions of internally displaced persons (IDPs) ("Annual Report 2007") [ID 20097]

"

There was forced displacement in many areas, including Darfur, parts of the south, and the area of the Meroe dam. The Khartoum municipal authorities continued to forcibly evict internally displaced people who had settled in the Khartoum area, notwithstanding an agreement reached between the Governor of Khartoum State and a Consultative Committee on Re-Planning Affecting IDPs composed of representatives from the UN, other governments and donors. The Governor had promised a moratorium on all relocations until they were better planned and until the new locations met certain minimum standards.

• On 16 August, without prior warning, bulldozers began to demolish homes in Dar al-Salam, an IDP settlement 43km south of Khartoum housing some 12,000 IDPs. Many had fled droughts and famine in Darfur in the 1980s. Armed police and Special Forces used violence and tear gas against residents, and carried out arrests. Four people died, including a child, and many were injured."

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06.03.2007 - Source: US Department of State

Police continued to raid internally displace persons' (IDPs) camps in 2006 ("Country Report on Human Rights Practices 2006") [ID 19266]

"Police often entered IDP areas without a warrant in search of illegal alcohol brewing and often seized property unrelated to brewing. Police also extorted money from illegal alcohol brewers by threatening them with prison.

For example, on June 11, a Dinka woman living at El Fateh relocation camp near Khartoum reported that police raided her house in May searching for illegal alcohol. When they could not find alcohol, they forced her to hand over all her money. One officer remained behind and demanded sex; when the woman resisted, the officer told her that he would see her again "one of these days."

Police continued to raid homes at El Fateh relocation camp in October searching for illegal alcohol. For example, on October 26, police raided the home of one man but could not find any alcohol; nevertheless, they demanded money. According to UNMIS, police rarely found alcohol during these raids, and court prosecutions for illegal alcohol production were rarer still. "

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06.03.2007 - Source: US Department of State

Overview on situation of internally displaced persons (IDPs) in 2006 ("Country Report on Human Rights Practices 2006") [ID 19408]

"There were estimates that up to five million persons had been displaced due to the north-south civil war. The UN estimated that at least two million persons had been displaced by the conflict in Darfur and that another 234,000 had fled to Chad. Despite the signing of the DPA on May 5, continued attacks and violence in Darfur, perpetrated by all parties to the conflict, resulted in tens of thousands of new displacements, and some existing IDPs were displaced for the second or third time. For example, the UN estimated that the number of IDPs increased by approximately 125,000 between July and September due to increased fighting and insecurity. On November 23, the UN reported that renewed fighting in South Darfur resulted in the displacement of between 10,000 to 16,000 persons from the areas of Seleah, Muhajeria, Motowred, and Ngabo. Darfur IDPs did not return in any significant numbers to their place of origin, although small scale spontaneous returns to certain villages occurred. Hundreds of thousands of persons, largely southerners and westerners displaced by famine and civil war, continued to live in squatter slums around Khartoum.

The government provided little assistance or protection to IDPs. In Darfur, local police established checkpoints near some IDP camps, though police made little effort to provide security. In the south, the South Sudan Relief and Rehabilitation Commission, an agency of the Government of Southern Sudan, provided protection and assistance to returning IDPs.

There were numerous reports of abuses committed against IDPs, including rapes, beatings, and attempts by the government to forcibly return persons to their homes (see section 1.g.). There were credible reports that the government harassed IDPs in Darfur who spoke with foreign observers, especially high-profile foreigners, demanding to know the content of their discussions.

The government occasionally blocked commercial and road access to IDP camps, purportedly for security reasons.

Insecurity in Darfur, especially outside of IDP camps, restricted IDPs' freedom of movement; women and girls who left the town risked sexual violence (see section 1.g.).

The government forced or coerced IDPs to return to their villages by promising food and money; however, most IDPs who returned to the villages to receive the assistance later returned to the IDP camps. "

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05.09.2006 - Source: Integrated Regional Information Network

African Union (AU) has little capacity to protect internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Darfur ("Heightened tension and frustration in Darfur") [ID 15803]

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18.08.2006 - Source: BBC News

Demolition of a camp that was home to 12.000 displaced people outside Khartoum ("UN call to stop Sudan demolitions") [ID 17217]

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17.08.2006 - Source: ReliefWeb

Dar Assalam: Demolitions of houses force 12,000 IDPs to relocate ("The UN expresses concerns at forced relocation of 12,000 displaced people in Greater Khartoum"), Author: United Nations Mission in Sudan (UNMIS) [ID 15896]

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17.08.2006 - Source: Integrated Regional Information Network

Forced relocation of 12.000 people and ongoing destruction of their dwellings by Khartoum state authorities ("12,000 people affected by demolitions outside Khartoum") [ID 17216]

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23.05.2006 - Source: Amnesty International

Internally displaced people continue to be target of attacks by Janajawid and government troops ("Annual Report 2006") [ID 18340]

"More than 1.8 million people remained forcibly displaced internally, and 220,000 refugees were still in Chad. IDPs travelled from rural areas to settlements around towns and villages in Darfur fleeing attacks. Even within IDP camps, security was jeopardized by Janjawid militias and government forces.

• On 19 May police shot dead three people and injured 10 others in Kalma IDP camp in Nyala, south Darfur. The next day there were violent clashes between police and people living in the camp.
• On 25 May the security forces attacked Zam Zam IDP camp near El Fasher town in north Darfur. They reportedly fired indiscriminately, killing Mohamed Adam Khatir and injuring seven others.
• On 28 September, Janjawid militia forces attacked the IDP camp of Aro Sharow, killing 35 people and wounding 10, which forced over 4,000 to flee.

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23.05.2006 - Source: Amnesty International

Forcible relocation of internally displaced people (IDPs) ("Annual Report 2006") [ID 18341]

"The government forcibly relocated large numbers of IDPs living in and around Khartoum. Many had fled conflict and extreme deprivation in the south and Darfur; others were from marginalized communities throughout Sudan. The involuntary relocations sometimes led to violent clashes and mass arrests. Despite promises in July by the Governor of Khartoum State to consult with donors and UN agencies before relocating camps, settlements and groups of people, forcible relocation without warning continued.

• On 18 May fighting broke out between IDPs and police over the proposed relocation of the Soba Aradi IDP camp. Fourteen police officers and up to 30 IDPs were killed. On 24 May police arrested large numbers of IDPs. Mohammed Daw al Beit and three others arrested reportedly died in police custody.
• On 17 August armed police surrounded the Shikan IDP camp located in Omdurman, Khartoum. They arrived with lorries and emptied the entire camp of its residents. The majority of residents were moved to Fatah III camp, where basic services were lacking. Those relocated reported abuses by security forces during the relocation.

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20.04.2006 - Source: Austrian Centre for Country of Origin and Asylum Research and Documentation

Overview on internal displacement ("10th European Country of Origin Infomation Seminar Budapest, 1 - 2 December 2005: Final Report on Sudan") [#49770],  [ID 19047]

"According to estimates, the number of internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Sudan is more than 6 million: 1.8 million in Darfur, approximately 2 million in Khartoum, 1.4 million in the South, the rest in the East and in other areas. It must be underlined that there is a link between natural resources, economic policy and displacement. In most cases, displacement in Sudan is based on resource issues, e.g. in the transitional areas of Sudan, where oil is located. Many people have been displaced even in government-controlled areas for resource reasons, to secure oil-producing areas or develop big agricultural schemes. Private ownership of land does not exist anymore. Therefore the government can use land for its own business interests, which are interwoven with the military’s interests and those of some families. Even though the huge displacement of people from the South was caused by armed conflict, it was also related to resource questions. It is no coincidence that the conflict in the South started at a time when the wealth of oil was realised.
HA: In the beginning of 2000, the government brought Arab Baggara tribes from the West of Sudan to South Sudan and displaced the Nuer population, because the government considered the Nuer to be a threat to the pipelines. "

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20.04.2006 - Source: Austrian Centre for Country of Origin and Asylum Research and Documentation

Khartoum: Situation of internally displaced persons (IDPs) (legal situation, documents, living and health conditions) ("10th European Country of Origin Infomation Seminar Budapest, 1 - 2 December 2005: Final Report on Sudan") [#49770],  [ID 19048]

"One fifth of the IDPs in Khartoum live in four official camps, and four fifths in up to 30 squatter settlements. The origin of the people in the camps: 20% are from Equatoria, the ultimate South, 20% from the central Southern provinces, 18% from Kordofan and the transitional areas, 13% from Bar el Ghazal, 10% from Darfur, and 9% from Upper Nile.
The legal situation of internally displaced persons in Khartoum is very difficult. It depends on the time they arrived: Those IDPs who arrived before the outbreak of the civil war with the South in 1983, usually gained some rights as so called “squatters”. Those who arrived later, and that is the majority, don’t have any rights.
According to a survey which was carried out by CARE and IOM in 2003, 36% of IDPs in Khartoum had no documents. Only 37% had birth certificates, 15% certificates of nationality and only 8% had Sudanese ID cards. So documentation is a huge human rights issue as well. With lack of documentation, IDPs cannot even prove that they are Sudanese citizens.
The living and health conditions of IDPs are appalling. The international community paid some attention to IDPs in Khartoum in the past, but since the Darfur crisis, NGOs and international organisations focus on IDPs in Darfur instead. So the situation of IDPs in Khartoum has deteriorated over the last few years. The government does not address this issue. According to an UN assessment conducted in 2005, the housing and nutritional situation of IDPs in Khartoum is worse than in Darfur. In Darfur, IDPs are being nourished and supported by the international community, whereas there is hardly any assistance to IDPs in Khartoum.
School attendance is below 30%, because there are no schools available and the government doesn’t spend money on this issue. All services have to be organised by NGOs and the IDPs themselves. These people are not welcome in Khartoum, but they provide all the cheap manual labour force."

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20.04.2006 - Source: Austrian Centre for Country of Origin and Asylum Research and Documentation

Khartoum: Demolition of internally displaced persons (IDPs) camps ("10th European Country of Origin Infomation Seminar Budapest, 1 - 2 December 2005: Final Report on Sudan") [#49770],  [ID 19049]

"Since 2003, the demolition of IDP camps and squatters’ settlements in Khartoum has progressed and about 250,000 IDPs have been made homeless by the government. Protests of the United Nations against this demolition policy did not help. IDPs have been sent to new sites far away from the city into the desert with no water or any other services. This led to riots during which people were killed by the police. 900 people are reportedly still being detained because of these incidents. The news of Dr Garang’s death in August 2005 caused three waves of violence and pillage. First agitated southerners went looting towards the city centre, then Arabs pillaged IDP quarters in revenge. Afterwards the police entered the camps and squatter areas, looking for electrical goods. If they found goods for which the IDPs could not show receipts, the police accused them of having stolen the devices during the riots and simply confiscated them.
HA: Now, that the peace agreement is signed, the government hopes very much to attract foreign investors. This means that they will buy land to construct factories and companies etc. at exactly the places where IDPs live. Since the signing of the peace agreement in January 2005, we experience a huge destruction of IDP sites. Infrastructure like health centres and churches that were built by the IDP communities themselves, have also been destroyed. The UN system is not able to address this issue because the UN has a humanitarian, not a political mandate. Dennis McNamara, the director of the Inter-Agency Internal Displacement Division (IDD) in Geneva, went to Khartoum and spoke with the governor who said publicly that the IDP sites had to be destroyed because the places were needed."

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20.04.2006 - Source: Austrian Centre for Country of Origin and Asylum Research and Documentation

Internally displaced persons (IDPs) from South cannot return due to lack of money, infrastructure and security ("10th European Country of Origin Infomation Seminar Budapest, 1 - 2 December 2005: Final Report on Sudan") [#49770],  [ID 19051]

"Many IDPs, especially the older generation, want to return, but there is no way to reach the South because the international community is not prepared to pay for the transportation. Last year the SPLM asked for about 145 million dollars for transportation costs. The donor countries, however, are not willing to give money for this purpose because they say that the country has natural resources including oil and should take care of the IDPs. [...]
Outside the IDP camp in Haj Yousif, at least half a million Dinka and Nuer live without access to water, sanitation, and education – and the government knows that this situation is a ticking bomb. On the other hand, the government cannot let the IDPs return to the South, because they would have a huge impact on the future history of the country. If the result of a future referendum is a vote for the secession from the North, the southerners will have the power over the Nile. [...]
Even if the IDPs want to return, there is no infrastructure awaiting them. Why should people return to destroyed villages where nothing exists – as it is the case in Darfur. [...]
I’ve seen many situations where refugees expressed a very strong desire to return, but the conditions did not permit it. The conditions in the South are not adequate yet to receive any massive return, there is a lack of transportation and the development of the South faces incredible logistical problems. [...]
Also, the security situation in many regions in the South is still very unstable. So even spontaneous returns cannot be supported in many instances. The statistics about how many IDPs returned to the South are not reliable. It is also not known, how many of them came back to Khartoum again afterwards."

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03.2006 - Source: US Commission on International Religious Freedom

Internally displaced persons (IDPs) and refugees need greater resources ("Policy Focus on Sudan") [ID 17215]

"In terms of the number of civilians displaced by conflict, no country comes close to Sudan. There are more than 600,000 refugees and four million IDPs from the North-South civil war, and more than 200,000 refugees and two million IDPs from Darfur, for a total of seven million displaced Sudanese from a population of 40 million. In the Khartoum area alone, there are 255,000 IDPs residing in official camps, and an additional 1.7 million living in unofficial squatter settlements. The overwhelming majority of the nearly five million displaced as a result of the North- South civil war are Christians or followers of traditional African religions; those displaced from Darfur are Muslims who are members of tribes identified as African as distinct from Arab."

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10.02.2006 - Source: UN High Commissioner for Refugees

Darfur: IDP camps regularly attacked by Arab and other unidentified groups ("UNHCR's position on Sudanese asylum-seekers from Darfur") [#44832],  [ID 18373]

"Civilians continue to be targeted by fighting in Darfur. Thousands of Darfurians
driven from their homes and lands remain in IDP camps in Darfur. A recent trend is
the considerable rise in abductions, harassment, extortion and looting of civilians by
primarily Arab militia.6 Deliberate attacks by Arab and other unidentified groups,
some with apparent links to military or police or rebel groups, have been aimed at
civilians in the IDP camps, resulting in the killing of men and abduction of women,
looting of livestock, destruction of villages, destruction of crops and water supplies. [...] Women in some camps and those leaving camps to collect firewood continue to face
a high risk of sexual assault."

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10.02.2006 - Source: UN High Commissioner for Refugees

Situation of internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Khartoum; information on government's “re-planning process” for IDP camps, that has led to demolition of IDP homes, schools and medical centres ("UNHCR's position on Sudanese asylum-seekers from Darfur") [#44832],  [ID 18376]

"In Khartoum, there are approximately two million IDPs in four IDP camps and
in some 16 squatter areas in and around the capital. The majority of the IDPs are from
South Sudan, but there is a sizable IDP population from Darfur as well, many of
whom arrived in Khartoum during the 1980s, as a result of draught. Survey estimates
indicate that approximately 10-15% of the two million IDPs in Khartoum are from
Darfur. The IDP population in and around Khartoum is socially and economically
marginalized and lives in very poor living conditions, despite the activities of the UN
and NGOs. Harassment and arbitrary violence on the part of the authorities is
a regular occurrence. Internally displaced persons from Darfur in Khartoum also often
face protection risks, including forced relocation and forced return. [...]

Exacerbating the problem, the Government has accelerated, since 2003, a “re-
planning process” for the IDP camps and squatter areas in and around Khartoum. This
has led to demolition of IDP homes, schools and medical centres. It is assessed by
UNHCR that approximately 250,000 IDP households have been made homeless as
a result of the ongoing home demolitions. Thousands of families have been left with
no place to live, because plots allocated are too few and no alternative shelters have
been provided. There is no effective government policy addressing the needs of those
excluded from accessing new plots. Especially hard hit are undocumented IDPs,
female-headed households and those who arrived in Khartoum after 1996. The latter
include most of the IDPs from Darfur who were compelled to move to the capital, as
a result of the Darfur crisis."

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10.02.2006 - Source: UN High Commissioner for Refugees

Darfur: Internally displaced people (IDPs) face serious threats to their physical safety and personal security ("UNHCR's position on Sudanese asylum-seekers from Darfur") [#44832],  [ID 18377]

"Internally displaced persons in Darfur continue to face serious threats to their physical safety and personal security. In UNHCR’s assessment, the threats are so widespread that it cannot be said there is an internal flight alternative anywhere in Sudan for asylum-seekers from Darfur, including for those who resided in Khartoum before the Darfur crisis. Sudanese of “non-Arab” Darfurian background returning to Sudan face a heightened risk of scrutiny by the security apparatus."

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