OCHA Situation Report
Sudan Humanitarian Overview Vol 1, Issue 3
15 October - 15 November 2005
15 November 2005


Source: UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs

SOUTHERN SUDAN
Security in many areas of Southern Sudan deteriorated during the 
reporting period, with the presence of elements belonging to the Lord's 
Resistance Army (LRA) remaining a very major concern. In addition to an 
unconfirmed number of civilians who have been murdered, raped, abducted 
and robbed, humanitarian aid workers have also found themselves targeted 
by the LRA's random violence, adding to fears that the Ugandan rebel 
group has made the targeting of aid workers part of its strategy.

On 31 October, two staff members of the Swiss Demining Foundation (FSD) 
were killed along the Juba-Nimule road, allegedly by LRA forces. On 5 
November, a staff member of the NGO International Aid Services (IAS) was 
killed while travelling from Kaya to Yei when the vehicle he was riding 
in was ambushed by a group of armed men suspected to be LRA rebels. The 
wounded driver and another passenger -- the dead staff member's wife -- 
escaped. Civilians -- both national and international -- and NGOs have 
also fallen victim to LRA attacks in northern Uganda during the 
reporting period. As a result of these incidents, UN security levels 
have been increased in all areas where LRA presence is known or 
suspected, which has severely limited humanitarian activities in the 
affected region. A boundary has been delineated within Bahr el Jebel, 
Eastern and Western Equatoria states as "no-go" areas until decided 
otherwise by a UN security assessment mission (see map above). For its 
part, FSD suspended operations in Southern Sudan, which will inevitably 
cause a delay in the demining process, consequently hampering 
humanitarian activities in the South and the return of refugees. 
Humanitarian agencies have had to begin using armed escorts on cer tain 
routes, adding to the financial cost for humanitarian operations. 
Meanwhile, the commandeering of humanitarian cars and motorcycles by 
military police for use in pursuit of LRA groups has continued, further 
disrupting humanitarian operations. LRA activities have also cast doubts 
on the likelihood of any repatriation of Sudanese refugees from 
neighbouring Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) this year, as had 
been foreseen.

WESTERN EQUATORIA

Meanwhile, in Mundri County of Western Equatoria State, clashes between 
displaced Bor Dinka and local Moru populations have persisted, although 
a period of relative calm allowed an interagency assessment to survey 
the impact of a month of inter-communal conflict in the area. The Bor 
Dinka moved with their cattle to Western Equatoria in 1983 following the 
eruption of the Sudanese civil war. Since then, they have been living 
with an increasing number of cattle among the Moru people, causing 
destruction to crops and the environment in the area. Tensions mounted 
as the Dinka refused to leave the predominantly Moru area, and 
eventually escalated into armed confrontation, which has become an 
ongoing security concern in the subregion. The assessment found that 
there was a likelihood of escalating rates of morbidity, mortality and 
malnutrition, and indicated a need for increasing current levels of 
humanitarian assistance in food aid, water and sanitation, and health 
services. To date, several dozen people have been killed and at least 
2,400 people have been displaced by the fighting, which began in 
September. Government representatives asked the leadership of the Bor 
Dinka to move back to Bor, together with their cattle, estimated to 
number between 500,000 and one million, and offered to provide military 
protection during the migration, to which the Bor Dinka leadership 
reportedly agreed. However, the proposal has been rejected by groups 
living along return routes. Longtime regional observers have noted that 
genuine reconciliation efforts between the Bor Dinka and groups such as 
the Murle, the Mundari and the Nuer are long overdue.

On 14 November, intertribal fighting broke out between the Zande 
community and Dinka IDPs in Yambio and Tambura counties. Dinka soldiers 
within the SPLA also started attacking the Zande residents of the town. 
Many people were injured in the fighting, but as of the SHO reporting 
deadline, the UN had no exact reports of casualties. All UN and NGO 
international staff in the affected region were relocated to Rumbek. The 
insecurity could delay plans for refugee repatriation from neighbouring 
Central African Republic (CAR) for the rest of 2005. Furthermore, 
UNICEF, WHO the Federal Ministry of Health of the GoSS and NGO partners 
were forced to postpone the launch of a massive measles immunisation 
campaign which was due to start in Western Equatoria on 21 November. The 
campaign to immunise about 4.5 million children was scheduled to begin 
instead in Juba on 25 November. Local and international staff who had 
been preparing for the mass measles campaign were among dozens of UN and 
NGO aid workers temporarily relocated from Yambio and Tambura due to 
violence.

NORTHERN BAHR EL GHAZAL

Following a recent rapid assessment, OCHA has called rehabilitation of 
the Aweil Town hospital -- the only full-fledged hospital in the state 
of 1.1 million people -- the top need in the health sector. A more 
detailed assessment was to be undertaken. OCHA also signalled water and 
sanitation needs in Aweil Town itself, where an estimated 15,000 people 
live in an area not larger than two square km. A high water table causes 
major sanitation problems, as pit latrines empty almost directly into 
underground water, which is then drawn from wells for consumption, 
leaving the town's population to rely on water heavily contaminated with 
human and animal waste. There is a need for an increase in hygiene 
promotion and distribution of chlorine tables, as well as for exploring 
the possibility of accessing deeper water levels by drilling of 
boreholes.

Access to Aweil Town remains problematic, as it is surrounded by 
minefields. Although main access roads from Aweil East, Aweil West and 
Aweil Centre were demined earlier this year and are considered safe by 
local authorities, the main roads from Aweil Town to Wau require 
thorough and specialised demining, and none of the roads have been 
certified by UN authorities, meaning that UN staff are required to fly 
to Aweil Town. The state governor has stated that demining of access 
roads to Aweil Town is the top priority for the new state government.

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