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Sudan: Conflict – Flash Update #19 West Darfur. As of 6 May 2021 [EN/AR]

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KEY POINTS

  • The security situation in Ag Geneina town while stable is tense and unpredictable – no fighting reported in the last two weeks.

  • Overcrowding in IDP gathering points remains a key issue with people living in unsanitary conditions. High levels of psychological distress have been reported among women, girls and boys.

  • The top needs of the newly displaced people are food, non-food items, water, shelter, protection, health and education.

  • Some people have already started to return to their homes in Hay Al Jabal neighbourhood, but more basic services are needed.

  • US$65 million is urgently needed to save the lives of displaced people in West Darfur.

SITUATION

The security situation in Ag Geneina town is tense and unpredictable. Since 28 April, Al Jamarik market has been closed by state authorities due to an increase in criminal acts by armed groups inside the market. In the latest incident on 27 April, one person was killed, and two others were wounded. This criminality is hindering the return of people to their homes. Humanitarian organizations continue to scale up operations but are concerned about limited measures to protect assets and supplies. However, the situation is not the same in all areas of the town. Security in the southern parts has improved according to state authorities who are encouraging aid agencies to resume operations in these areas.

There are over one hundred gathering sites where people are living in overcrowded and unsanitary conditions. There are serious concerns about the possibility of disease outbreaks. This situation will be made worse with the onset of the rainy season in June.

In gathering sites, elevated levels of psychological distress among IDP women, girls and boys have been observed. This, coupled with the lack of essential services such as water, health, shelter, and food, have further deteriorated living conditions. Protection, including gender-based violence (GBV), sexual harassment, and physical assault, were also reported as top concerns in the IDP gathering sites and surrounding areas.

A recent inter-agency needs assessment in Hay Al Jabal neighbourhood found that many areas were undamaged in the fighting and that some people have already started to return to their homes. A heavy presence of security forces in the neighbourhood was observed.

Whilst humanitarians are responding to the urgent needs there are shortages of funds which are hampering the delivery of aid. The already weakened health system is struggling to cope with the increased needs. With the rainy season approaching, the required scale up of activities will be a major challenge for humanitarians.

In the first four months of 2021 close to 237,000 people were displaced by conflict in Darfur - more than four times the 58,000 people displaced by conflict in 2020 - creating a significant increase in new needs.

For more information on humanitarian response see our latest situation report

UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs: To learn more about OCHA's activities, please visit https://www.unocha.org/.