Sudan - OFDA-02: 02-Sep-97
Sudan - OFDA-02: 02-Sep-97
U.S. AGENCY FOR INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT
BUREAU FOR HUMANITARIAN RESPONSE (BHR)
OFFICE OF U.S. FOREIGN DISASTER ASSISTANCE (OFDA)
SUDAN - Complex Emergency
Situation Report #2, Fiscal Year (FY) 1997 September 2, 1997
Note: The last situation report was dated November 12, 1996.
BACKGROUND
Fighting began in 1983 between the Government of Sudan (GOS) and the Sudan
People's Liberation Army (SPLA) when the southern-based rebels demanded
more influence in the government and protested the GOS efforts to
"Islamize" the Christian and animist south. In 1991, the SPLA split into
factions, and intensified fighting between SPLA factions erupted in areas
of the south. The conflict continues today and civilians throughout the
south and the transitional zone (the area of southern Darfur, southern
Kordofan, northern Bahr el Ghazal, and the northern Upper Nile States) are
directly affected by aerial bombings by the GOS and forced relocations due
to fighting. Ongoing insecurity and population displacement in the south
and the transitional zone have not only interrupted or destroyed most of
the indigenous trading and productive systems, but have also been a major
impediment to relief efforts. The United Nations (U.N.) and numerous
non-governmental organizations (NGO) within and outside the framework of
Operation Lifeline Sudan (OLS) are delivering relief assistance by
airlifts, airdrops, barges, trains, and truck convoys. In the more secure
areas of southern Sudan, efforts to rehabilitate and restore
self-sufficiency are underway.
NUMBERS AFFECTED AT A GLANCE
Figures listed are U.N. Humanitarian Coordination Unit and U.N. High
Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) estimates. Internally Displaced Persons
(IDPs): 2.5 million, including 1.8 million in Khartoum, 350,000 in the
transition zone and government-held garrison towns, 150,000 in camps in
Equatoria, and additional tens of thousands elsewhere. Refugees: 209,000
Sudanese refugees in Uganda, 110,000 in the Democratic Republic of Congo
(formerly Zaire), 78,000 in Ethiopia, 28,000 in Kenya and 27,000 in the
Central African Republic. 349,000 Eritreans, 51,000 Ethiopians, 4,400
Chadians, and 10,000 refugees of various origins currently in Sudan.
Total USAID Assistance for FY 1997 (to date) . . . . $39,774,378
CURRENT SITUATION
Thousands Displaced as Rebels Advance: In January, the united forces of
the SPLA and the National Democratic Alliance (NDA), an alliance of
opposition groups in northern and southern Sudan formed last October,
launched a military campaign in the northern regions of Sudan. The
military campaign, aimed at toppling the Sudanese government, initially
resulted in the capture of several strategic areas. The offensive slowed
down after a government call for general mobilization, but NDA forces
still reportedly control several towns in the Red Sea and Blue Nile
regions, including Kurmuk, Qeissan, and Maban. The NDA, based in Asmara,
the capital of Eritrea, includes the country's main traditional parties
and the SPLA. In March, the military offensive shifted to the far south
after SPLA forces captured the town of Yei. The SPLA subsequently seized
Kaya and Kajo Keji in Western Equatoria and Rumbek in Bahr el
Ghazal/Lakes. The SPLA, under the leadership of John Garang, now controls
most of Western Equatoria and Bahr el Ghazal/Lakes.
The renewed military offensive generated major population movements,
particularly in the south. A joint OLS assessment in late March
identified a total of 100,000 returning refugees from northern Uganda and
vulnerable persons among the resident population in Yei as requiring
urgent relief food and non-food assistance. Many returnees eventually
settled in or around their home villages, while others settled in three
existing IDP camps located near Uganda. The mass exodus into southern
Sudan coincided with increased rebel activity in northern Uganda.
Restrictions Hamper Response: GOS-imposed restrictions on relief
operations hindered initial efforts to meet humanitarian needs from April
to June. In both May and June, the GOS suspended all flights into
southern Sudan for up to one week. From March to June, the GOS also
banned all C-130 flights to Equatoria and Bahr el Ghazal from Lokichokio,
the OLS base in northern Kenya, and the use of high capacity C-130
Hercules aircraft in areas controlled by the SPLA. OLS access improved in
July following the visit of the newly-appointed U.N. Special Envoy for
Humanitarian Affairs for the Sudan Ambassador Robert Van Schaik. However,
reports indicate that the restrictions on OLS flights reduced food aid for
more than 700,000 aid-dependent Sudanese and prevented the delivery of
seeds and tools, affecting timely planting. Minor restrictions imposed by
the SPLA also affected humanitarian access to some areas. Recent SPLA
gains have, however, allowed the OLS to transport relief supplies and
personnel to Western Equatoria and Lakes regions by road via Uganda for
the first time in many years.
OLS Ground Rules Violations: In July, the United States temporarily
suspended all distribution of vegetable oil in southern Sudan, northern
Uganda, and northern Kenya. The suspension was imposed after an estimated
300 MT of BHR/Office of Food for Peace (FFP)-provided P.L.480 Title II
commodities were diverted by SPLA officers and sold for personal gain in
northern Uganda in early May, in violation of OLS ground agreements. The
suspension was lifted in late August following a field investigation by a
team from BHR/FFP and the USAID Office of the Inspector General's Special
Audit Division that took place from July 21 to August 4. In discussions
with the team, the SPLA's humanitarian wing, Sudan Relief and
Rehabilitation Association (SRRA), confirmed the diversions took place but
without SRRA/SPLA sanction. The team has recommended several specific
measures to reduce the potential for future diversions.
Donors and NGOs are also concerned about recent violations of OLS ground
rules committed by SPLA forces in Western Equatoria, including the
commandeering and use of NGO vehicles for military purposes. In late
July, armed bandits forcibly entered the World Vision Relief and
Development (WVRD) compound in Yambio, Western Equatoria, and robbed,
beat, and held at gunpoint five international staff while SPLA military
were nearby. All WVRD staff were subsequently evacuated. Some items
looted have been recovered and four people were reportedly arrested later
in connection with the attack. In late January, SPLA forces entered a
Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF)/France compound in Pochalla, forced the
staff into a tent, and looted equipment. The staff were safely evacuated
to Lokichokio, and U.N. World Food Program (WFP) and MSF/France equipment
looted during this attack were later recovered.
In July, Southern Sudan Independence Movement (SSIM) faction forces looted
radios and other property from an NGO compound in Ayod, Upper Nile
Province, also in violation of OLS ground rules agreement. SSIM forces
also occupied health units and looted medicines from a BHR/OFDA-funded
Mercy Corps International (MCI)/ACROSS health project in Akobo. While
activities under this project continue in other areas, the Akobo portion
was suspended.
1996/97 Crop Outcome: According to a USAID Famine Early Warning System
bulletin released in late July, a dry spell that affected parts of
southern Sudan in May and June will severely affect crop yields in Rumbek
and Yirol in Bahr el Ghazal/Lakes and Juba, Torit, and Kapoeta counties in
Equatoria in the coming weeks. Although pasture and herd conditions are
generally good, NGOs estimate that the dry spell, which also rendered
crops more susceptible to damage from insect pests and disease, will
reduce first-crop harvests for about 300,000 persons by as much as 65%.
Prospects for the second, main-season crop, which represents 60-75% of
annual production, depend on the current rains, which arrived late at the
end of June and will last until October. Outstanding OLS relief food
requirements for 1997 are currently projected at 36,410 MT.
POLITICAL/MILITARY SITUATION
GOS Signs Peace Agreement with Rebel Groups: On April 22, the GOS and five
rebel factions, including the SSIM and the SPLA/Bahr el Ghazal Group,
signed a peace agreement in Khartoum. Under the peace deal, a
coordinating council would run the affairs of southern Sudan for four
years after which a referendum on the future status of southern Sudan
would be held. Soon after, six factions, including all five signatories
to the peace agreement, signed an accord recognizing former Garang ally
and SSIM leader Riek Machar as their overall and united militarily under
the South Sudan Defense Force. The United States commended the peace
agreement as a positive first step, but stressed the need for the GOS to
seek a peaceful settlement with other factions.
IGAD Peace Negotiations: From July 8 to 9, President Daniel arap Moi of
Kenya hosted a regional summit of Intergovernmental Authority on
Development (IGAD) members to discuss the war in southern Sudan and
Somalia. The GOS, after some initial resistance, finally accepted a
declaration of principles as a basis for discussion, clearing the way for
the resumption of talks which broke off nearly three years ago. The
principles lay the groundwork for discussions regarding the country's
return to a secular constitution and a four-year interim administration to
address issues surrounding self-determination. Al Bashir also called for
a cease- fire with the SPLA during an official visit to South Africa.
Both the SPLA and NDA rejected the call for a cease-fire, arguing that it
was just a ploy to give the GOS an opportunity to rebuild its forces
against advancing SPLA troops. In late August, South African President
Nelson Mandela held separate talks with al Bashir and Garang and hosted a
summit between al Bashir and Ugandan President Yoweri Musevini. A meeting
of East African leaders under the auspices of IGAD, which was originally
scheduled for August 19, has been indefinitely postponed.
USG Increases Involvement: The United States has stepped up diplomatic
efforts to pressure the GOS and other parties to improve the country's
poor human rights record and cease hostilities. At the USG's urging, the
U.N. Commission on Human Rights is pressuring the GOS to comply with
international human rights laws and reduce restrictions on international
relief organizations. The USG also backed a recent U.N. Security Council
(UNSC) Resolution banning international flights by aircraft owned, leased,
or controlled by the already-bankrupt Sudan Airways or another entity of
the GOS. Other UNSC sanctions on Sudan restrict international travel for
GOS officials and call on nations to reduce the size of Sudanese
diplomatic missions abroad and to not hold international conferences in
Sudan.
RELIEF EFFORTS
IDPs and Returnees Assisted: Coordinated donor- funded relief efforts
continue to focus on the highly- variable needs of returnees from Uganda,
as well as those displaced by this year's offensive. OLS delivered food
and priority relief supplies by road from Yambio and from WFP food stores
in Uganda and BHR/OFDA-funded NGOs have been active in the distribution of
agricultural inputs and relief kits, health activities, and the
rehabilitation of key road routes. WFP recently initiated an airlift
operation into Juba where over 20,000 returnees, most of whom had arrived
from Yei, required immediate assistance. WFP barge convoys will deliver
nearly 4,000 MT of food and non-food supplies to Juba by the end of
September. Nutritional activities, implemented through the
BHR/OFDA-funded Action contre la Faim (ACF) grant, also continue. Three
WFP barge convoys successfully delivered over 2,400 MT of food to
beneficiaries along the Nile River corridor, despite the looting and
attack of one barge convoy in Jonglei reportedly carried out by SSIM
forces. Relief agencies are also responding to rising humanitarian needs
among displaced populations in Bahr el Ghazal/Lakes Region.
In Khartoum, donors and relief organizations are working with the GOS to
ensure that needs continue to be met, despite the demolition and
relocation of several IDP camps in the area. BHR/OFDA and BHR/FFP
programs continue to provide food, water, and health care for IDPs in
Greater Khartoum. Access to IDPs in and around Khartoum has improved,
allowing several therapeutic and supplementary feeding centers to address
high levels of wasting.
BHR/OFDA is also funding Save the Children Fund (SC)/US food security and
health activities that benefit populations in areas of south Kordofan
under GOS control and is funding a small water project through Norwegian
People's Aid (NPA), implemented by the Nuba Relief, Rehabilitation, and
Development Society (NRRDS) to provide water assistance in areas outside
GOS control. SC/US is trying to secure an agreement from the GOS and SPLA
to conduct measles vaccinations in rebel-controlled areas. Parts of
northern and western Sudan, including Darfur, recently experienced heavy
flooding. Casualty figures and details on the full extent of the flooding
are unavailable.
In the Red Sea Hills Region, the International Federation of the Red Cross
(IFRC), the Sudanese Red Crescent Society (SRCS), and Oxfam are working to
provide food to thousands of drought-stricken Beja nomads, despite
numerous logistical and security problems. Oxfam and SRCS also provided
supplementary feeding to vulnerable groups in Tokar and Sinkat provinces
in response to reports of high levels of wasting and malnutrition in this
area. Also, IDPs and war-affected people remain vulnerable and in need of
assistance in areas of the Blue Nile that fell under NDA control in
January. WFP recently delivered food to four IDP camps in the region.
Disease Outbreaks: Surveys conducted by CARE, International Medical Corps
(IMC), and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control have revealed an outbreak
of sleeping sickness in Western Equatoria. The team found an overall
19.3% prevalence of the disease in Tambura County, with Ezo town, the
epicenter of the disease, reporting a very high 27% prevalence rate. IMC
and CARE hope to respond to the outbreak, among the worst documented in
this century. Sleeping sickness is a parasitical vector-borne disease
that is fatal if untreated. Relapsing fever has also been reported in
Mankien, Upper Nile, among new IDPs from Gogrial. Efforts to treat
existing cases and control an outbreak of this vector-borne disease, which
could cause death if left untreated, are currently underway. An outbreak
of relapsing fever recently reported in Twic County is said to be under
control and treatment is ongoing. OLS NGOs recently conducted several
measles vaccination campaigns following reported cases near Juba, Yei, and
Bahr el Jebel, as well as in western Upper Nile and northern Bahr el
Ghazal. An outbreak of gastrointenstitis and cholera reported in Eastern
Equatoria is now under control. OLS also conducted vaccinations against
rinderpest in Bahr el Ghazal and anthrax in Eastern Equatoria.
OLS Funding Crisis: Despite urgent humanitarian needs, the U.N. scaled
back activities, particularly air operations, in southern Sudan for
several weeks when funding received for the 1997 U.N. Consolidated
Inter-Agency Appeal for Sudan fell short of the amount requested. The
Appeal, which was launched on February 18, requested $120.8 million for 33
projects, of which 29 are OLS projects, in six priority areas. Priority
activities supported by the Appeal include emergency food aid and
essential health, nutritional, and water activities, as well as overall
logistics support, Lokichokio camp management, and security. OLS is
conducting a large fund-raising effort and has established a cost-recovery
system for air operations and for food and lodging at the Lokichokio base
camp. BHR/OFDA has already contributed $2.25 million to UNICEF and $1.3
million to WFP to support OLS operations.
OLS Donors' Meeting: OLS's recent funding difficulties, humanitarian
conditions, and access difficulties were the highlights of the U.N.
Department of Humanitarian Affairs' Second International Advisory
Committee (IAC) meeting on OLS held in Geneva on June 27. Senior U.N.
representatives and donor government representatives, including BHR/OFDA,
attended. The IAC invoked the 1994 OLS Agreements facilitated by IGAD as
providing a framework within which OLS should pursue its activities in
cooperation with the GOS and the rebel movements rather than trying to
negotiate a new access agreement in Sudan. Participants also discussed
the status of 1997 OLS programs as well as progress achieved in efforts to
reform OLS. After the meeting, Ambassador Van Schaik sent a letter to the
GOS requesting action and clarification on access and clearance issues.
Before attending the Geneva meeting, Ambassador Van Schaik traveled to
Sudan, Lokichokio, and Nairobi to discuss humanitarian access issues with
OLS and representatives from the GOS and SPLA. Ambassador Van Schaik,
former Permanent Representative of the Netherlands to the U.N., succeeds
Ambassador Vieri Traxler, who resigned last September on account of ill
health.
ICRC Suspension Continues: ICRC suspended its operations in Sudan
following the hijacking of an ICRC plane in November. The aircraft was
captured by forces of GOS-ally Kerubino Kwanyin Bol upon landing in Wunrok
in Bahr el Ghazal to return five wounded SPLA soldiers. Four westerners
who were on board, including an American pilot, were released after 38
days, following the intervention of former New Mexico Congressman Bill
Richardson, now U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. However, the welfare of the
five Sudanese who remain in captivity is unknown. Nine ICRC staff in
Juba, held under house arrest since November 1, when this incident began,
were released in December. ICRC activities will remain suspended until
GOS accusations that the ICRC was transporting arms are put to rest.
However, the ICRC hospital in Lokichokio is operating at full capacity and
the ICRC continues to work with Sudanese prisoners in Uganda and Sudan.
ICRC recently sent food to Juba hospital under the auspices of the SRCS.
Later in March, an OLS aircraft was detained in Bor, Jonglei province, by
GOS authorities claiming that flight clearance for the aircraft had not
yet reached them. The GOS officials accused the pilot of carrying
sensitive documents to rebels and held him for seven weeks until,
following the intervention of senior U.N. officials, he was released on
May 2. The documents in question reportedly were flight log books and
aviation maps.
Refugees: In line with an agreement between Sudan, Ethiopia, and the
UNHCR, the last 23,000 Ethiopian refugees in eastern Sudan are expected to
be voluntarily repatriated this year. Of this group, about 7,000
Ethiopians were repatriated between May and July. Effective May, Eritrea
suspended UNHCR staff from Eritrea over disagreements about the
repatriation of refugees from Sudan. UNHCR is currently investigating
high mortality rates among IDPs and refugees in Juba, particularly among
800 or so refugees from the Democratic Republic of Congo.
USG ASSISTANCE TO SUDAN
The USG has actively been providing humanitarian assistance to Sudan since
1988. On October 28, 1996, U.S. Ambassador to Sudan, Timothy Carney,
renewed the disaster declaration for Sudan for FY 1997, stating that
continued U.S. assistance is required to assist over 3 million
war-affected and displaced Sudanese. Currently, the USG's humanitarian
response to the emergency in Sudan is provided through BHR/OFDA, BHR/FFP,
and the State Department's Bureau for Population, Refugee, and Migration
(PRM). USG- funded programs in Sudan promote continuing emergency relief
to populations at risk, while at the same time providing rehabilitation
assistance that builds local capacity to meet their own needs. This goal
is captured under the recently-approved USG Integrated Strategy Plan for
Sudan 1997-1999, which was developed within the context of the complex
emergency in Sudan and takes into consideration current legislative
restrictions on providing development aid to Sudan. The plan aims to meet
urgent food needs in a way that increases food self- reliance and to
address the major causes of mortality in Sudan by supporting comprehensive
coverage by a basic primary health care network. It also promotes working
with appropriate authorities and IDPs to develop local reintegration
options and strengthening local capacities for peace as well as
relationships and linkages that help reduce conflict.
BHR/OFDA and BHR/FFP staff in Washington continue to work with the
USAID/Regional Economic Development Services Offices/Sudan Field Office to
plan and monitor relief and rehabilitation activities in southern Sudan
and with USAID/Khartoum staff to monitor activities in northern Sudan and
GOS- controlled areas of the south. In January 1996, the United States
suspended its diplomatic presence in Khartoum, due to concerns for the
safety of American Embassy personnel in Sudan. Subsequently, Ambassador
Carney established a temporary office in Nairobi to maintain regular
diplomatic communications with the GOS.
BHR/OFDA Assistance (to date)
ACF emergency aid to Juba. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $1,025,743
ACF/France food security program in Bahr el Ghazal . . . . . $546,957
Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA)
emergency health and food program in Eastern
Equatoria and Greater Khartoum. . . . . . . . . . . . . . $2,144,267
American Red Cross nutrition program
in the Red Sea Hills. . . . . . . $68,090
American Refugee Committee emergency
program in Kajo Keji. . . . . . . $736,842
CARE programs in Western Equatoria, west Kordofan,
and Bor County. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $1,040,243
International Aid Sweden water and road rehabilitation program
in Equatoria and Lakes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $565,513
MCI health program in Bor County . . . . . . . . . . . . .$93,694
MSF/Belgium emergency medical, nutrition, and
sanitation program. . . . . . . .$344,134
MSF/Holland health program in Bor County . . . . . . $575,840
NPA food relief and agriculture rehabilitation program in Equatoria and
Lakes. . . . . . . .$1,453,079
NPA/NRRDS water program in Kordofan. . . . . . . . . . . .$45,000
SC/US emergency relief activities in south Kordofan. . . . . . . .$241,565
UNICEF health/nutrition program in IDP camps in Bahr el Ghazal Region. . .
. . . . . . . $172,889
UNICEF OLS/Southern Sector support . . . . . . . . . . $2,250,000
WFP food needs and logistics support . . . . . . . $1,300,000
WVRD emergency response. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $750,222
Total FY 97 BHR/OFDA Assistance (to date) . . . . . . . $13,354,078
BHR/FFP Assistance (to date)
To date in FY 1997, BHR/FFP has contributed 35,860 MT of Title II
emergency food to Sudan, valued at $26.4 million, to ADRA, Catholic Relief
Services (CRS), NPA, and WFP for emergency programming and refugee
assistance. In FY 1997, BHR/FFP also implemented CRS and WFP activities
in food security and distribution that were funded in FY 1996.
Total FY 97 BHR/FFP Assistance (to date) . . . . . . . . $26,420,300
State/PRM Assistance (to date)
In FY 1997 to date, State/PRM has provided over $92 million to UNHCR,
IFRC, ICRC, and International Rescue Committee for regional programs that
supported Sudanese refugees and IDPs and the care and maintenance of
Ethiopian and Eritrean refugees.
Total FY 97 State/PRM Assistance (to date) . . . . . $92,000,000*
*State/PRM funding to Sudan is regional and, therefore, not included in
total USG assistance figures.
BHR/OFDA Assistance FY 1997 (to date). . . . . . .$13,354,078
BHR/FFP Assistance FY 1997 (to date) . . . . . . . $26,420,300
USAID Assistance FY 1997 (to date) . . . . . . . . . .$39,774,378
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