Sudan - OFDA-02: 13-Jul-98
Sudan - OFDA-02: 13-Jul-98
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) 1998 -- July 13, 1998
Note: The last situation report was dated May 5, 1998.
BACKGROUND
Fighting began in 1983 between the Government of Sudan (GOS) and the Sudan
People's Liberation Army/Movement (SPLA/M) when the southern opposition
movement demanded more influence in the government and protested GOS
efforts to impose Islamic laws on the Christian and animist south. In
1991, intensified fighting erupted between SPLA factions in areas of the
south. The conflict continues today and civilians throughout the south
and the transitional zone (i.e. southern Darfur, southern Kordofan, and
southern Blue Nile area) are directly affected by GOS aerial bombings and
forced relocations due to fighting. The ongoing insecurity and population
displacement has not only interrupted or destroyed most of the indigenous
trading and productive systems, but has 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.
Total U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) Assistance for FY
1998 (to date) = $76,265,019
SITUATION UPDATE
* An estimated 2.6 Million Facing Food Shortages. The humanitarian
situation remains precarious in Sudan due to intensified fighting, late
access, drought, flooding, and difficulties in distribution of relief
assistance. The U.N. World Food Program (WFP) estimates that 1.2 million
people in rebel-areas in southern Sudan and an additional 1.4 million in
GOS held areas of southern Sudan, the transitional zone, and northern
Sudan urgently require assistance. The most serious needs are in Bahr el
Ghazal/Lakes Region, where the cumulative impact of conflict and drought
have negatively affected 701,000 people, including many newly displaced
and returnees who were displaced by the SPLA attack on Wau and Aweil towns
in late January. Also affected are an estimated 344,000 people in Upper
Nile/Jonglei Region and 181,000 in Equatoria Region. According to the
U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization, prospects for the 1998 main season
harvest, which starts in August, are poor, due to insecurity, low and
erratic rainfall, and reduced planting.
Donor-funded relief operations are attempting to respond to the rising
needs in southern Sudan, despite numerous obstacles, including logistical
constraints, ongoing insecurity, and restrictions on relief operations.
BHR/OFDA is providing funds to a number of NGOs implementing supplementary
and therapeutic feeding programs, including World Vision Relief and
Development (WVRD) and Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF)/Belgium, and has
provided over $5 million to support UNICEF/OLS southern Sudan operations.
BHR/Office of Food for Peace (FFP) is providing approximately $30.4
million to support WFP operations in southern Sudan, primarily in Bahr el
Ghazal/Lakes Region. USAID may increase its assistance over the next few
weeks as additional needs are clarified.
* Largest WFP Airdrop Operation to Begin Soon. In early July, the GOS
authorized the use of 13 aircraft to provide urgently-needed food to
vulnerable populations in southern Sudan. Three high-capacity C130s and
three Buffalos are currently operating out of Lokichokio, the OLS
logistical base in northern Kenya; an additional C130 will begin
operations soon. Two C130s will operate from El Obeid, a GOS-controlled
town in Northern Kordofan. Four Russian-made high-capacity Illyushins
will soon join the operation, two based in Khartoum and two in Nairobi.
In June, the GOS denied clearance for two Belgian military C130s but
provided written clearance for the Illyushins, which are less precise than
C130s. Air operations out of El Obeid began on June 6 and will provide
about 1,000 MT of food per month to Bahr el Ghazal and western Upper Nile.
A total of 4,300 MT of locally-purchased food is being used for this
operation, which is expected to reduce costs and improve the rates of
delivery. The current airdrop operation, the largest ever undertaken by
WFP, has increased food deliveries significantly. However, various
problems have prevented WFP from fully utilizing the available aircraft,
including a weak food pipeline and heavy rains in northern Kenya, which
disrupted the supply of jet fuel and temporarily damaged the Lokichokio
road. The rains, along with rising insecurity near the Kenyan border,
have also hampered food deliveries by road. WFP estimates that 9,600 MT
of bulk food and 600 MT of supplemental food is required per month to
respond to the increased needs in rebel-held areas of south Sudan. WFP
delivered 6,400 MT of food to south Sudan during the month of June. WFP
food deliveries are expected to improve during July, because of the
increased number of large-capacity aircraft. WFP/Khartoum is now
preparing to deliver food along the Sobat River corridor and a second
barge convoy along the Nile River Corridor to Juba. In May, WFP delivered
over 2,000 MT of food to 37 locations via barge.
OLS is preparing to double the number of children in its feeding programs
following recent nutritional surveys conducted by UNICEF in 12 SPLA-held
locations in Bahr al Ghazal. The surveys found about 51% of children were
malnourished. The highest rates of malnutrition were found in Panthou,
Pakor, and Wau towns. Around 4,000 of the children are estimated to
require therapeutic feeding.
* The USG and other Donors Push for Access. On May 10, the USG expressed
appreciation for the approval for additional aircraft for OLS, but urged
the GOS not to use the crisis as an opportunity to advance political
goals. The USG asked other donors to associate themselves with the
demarche and requested additional financial assistance to cover OLS needs.
In early May, the USG, in collaboration with other donors, also issued a
demarche to the Government of Kenya (GOK), expressing its concern about
procedural delays at Mombasa port and requesting the GOK to expedite the
movement of relief supplies. Although the SPLA and GOS resumed peace
negotiations under the aegis of the Inter-governmental Authority on
Development (IGAD) in early May, the two sides remain divided on the issue
of a ceasefire and the separation of religion from state. The SPLA also
wants an expanded south Sudan to include areas that were not in the
boundaries established at independence in 1956. The GOS has proposed an
internationally supervised vote on self-determination for southern Sudan.
Following a popular referendum conducted in May, the GOS adopted a new
constitution for Sudan, which allows a wide range of freedoms, but not the
freedom to form political parties, a key demand of many southern Sudanese.
The GOS recently established a Southern Consultative Council, headed by
Riek Machar, a faction leader who joined the GOS in April 1997, in Juba.
Fierce fighting continues between forces loyal to Machar and a breakaway
faction in Unity State. In May, northern and southern-based opposition
forces united under the National Democratic Alliance launched a major
military offensive in Blue Nile Province, capturing a string of
GOS-garrison towns near the vital hydroelectric power dam at Roseires and
the strategic Khartoum-Port Sudan road.
In late May, U.S. Congressman Tony Hall (D-Ohio) visited Kenya and Sudan.
He held discussions with OLS officials and SPLA/M representatives in
Nairobi and traveled from Lokichokio to Eastern Twic County in Bahr el
Ghazal. He also traveled to Wau and Khartoum where he met with GOS
officials and OLS and NGO representatives. During his visit to Khartoum,
Congressman Hall urged the GOS to allow unlimited humanitarian access to
south Sudan and the Nuba Mountains. The GOS continues to deny
humanitarian access to war-affected civilians in the Nuba Mountains
despite interventions by U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan and other high
level U.N. representatives. While GOS officials approved a joint OLS
assessment in the Nuba Mountains in May, the mission has yet to receive
approval. Over 20,000 people are facing serious food shortages in the
area. Upon his return to Nairobi, Congressman Hall also urged donors to
provide more resources to respond to the urgent needs in Sudan.
On May 18, the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs
hosted a meeting of the International Advisory Committee meeting on OLS in
Geneva. BHR/OFDA officials attended and urged the OLS to take a more
proactive stance toward the GOS in pushing for full access to war-affected
civilians. They also warned that the humanitarian crisis in Bahr el
Ghazal would not end with the lifting of flight bans but required quick
dissemination of information and mobilization of resources. In mid-June,
Tom Eric Vraalsen, currently Norway's Ambassador to the U.S., was
appointed new U.N. Special Envoy for Humanitarian Affairs in Sudan,
replacing Ambassador Robert van Schaik.
* Relief Centers and Workers Attacked. On June 10, a GOS plane dropped
six bombs around an emergency feeding center run by WVRD in Gogrial
County. WFP was distributing food in the area following an airdrop but
there were no casualties. Bombs have also been dropped on Ikotos, Eastern
Equatoria, and Paluer and Panyagor, Upper Nile/Jonglei, in recent weeks,
wounding civilians. OLS personnel on the ground were unharmed.
Also in early June, three relief workers -- two WFP employees and one
staffer from the Sudan Red Crescent Society (SRCS) -- were killed and
three others wounded while returning from a food distribution in Kadugli.
The team, all Sudanese nationals, was attacked by unknown gunmen as they
were traveling in a WFP-marked vehicle. The SPLA has denied
responsibility for the deaths. In early July, a Ugandan WFP driver was
shot and killed in northern Uganda, near the Sudanese border, by 12
heavily armed men. The driver and another passenger, who escaped safely,
were dragged out of a WFP-marked vehicle, which was later destroyed, and
robbed. The U.N. has condemned both killings, emphasizing that there is
no justification for violence against humanitarian workers. In early May,
a Sudanese national was killed after armed tribesmen attacked a vehicle
belonging to Norwegian Church Aid near Ikotos. Two U.N. staff who were
reported missing in Juba in early July have now been found.
Inter-factional fighting between forces loyal to GOS allied local
commanders forced NGOs to suspend relief operations in western Upper Nile
in late June. NGO compounds and a feeding center were looted and relief
supplies for 25,000 people were destroyed during the fighting.
Humanitarian operations in Aweil West, Twic, and Gogrial counties in Bahr
el Ghazal/Lakes Region have also been affected by violent raids carried
out by GOS-backed militia forces in the area. Many civilians have been
killed and thousands of people have been forced to flee their homes and
land, preventing them from cultivating. Cattle and grain have been looted
in the raids as well.
* Refugees. Since resuming activities in Sudan in early May, the
International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has been working with SRCS
to assist Eritrean refugees in Sudanese camps. ICRC is also assisting GOS
prisoners of war in Yei and Uganda. UNHCR completed its program of
organized voluntary repatriation of Ethiopian refugees from Sudan in June
and is preparing for the voluntary repatriation of Eritreans. In
mid-June, a Sudanese national was killed and four Eritrean refugees were
injured in an artillery attack on a refugee camp in Kassala State from
inside Eritrea. Recent fighting between rival tribes in western Darfur
has reportedly forced an estimated 10,000 Sudanese to flee to Chad.
USG ASSISTANCE TO SUDAN
The USG has actively been providing humanitarian assistance to Sudan since
1988. On October 27, 1997, former U.S. Ambassador to Sudan Timothy Carney
renewed the disaster declaration for Sudan for FY 1998, stating that
continued U.S. assistance is required to assist over four 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). 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)
Program support and administration -- $171,429
Action Contre la Faim emergency health, nutrition and water program in the
Juba area -- $999,373
Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA) therapeutic feeding program
for IDPs in Khartoum -- $560,070
ADRA emergency food distribution in the Khartoum area -- $1,217,796
ADRA health program in North Sudan -- $560,070
American Refugee Committee health and water/sanitation program in Western
Equatoria -- $1,118,746
CARE basic primary health project in Khartoum displaced camps --
$1,533,588
CARE emergency program in En Nahud -- $271,993
CARE emergency program in Unity State -- $64,071
CARE food security program in Bor County -- $882,955
CARE sleeping sickness program in Tambura -- $487,472
Catholic Relief Services (CRS) emergency preparedness program in Yei and
Kajo Keji -- $427,751
Christian Mission Aid health program in Upper Nile -- $364,993
International Medical Corps (IMC) sleeping sickness program in Western
Equatoria -- $663,434
International Rescue Committee (IRC) umbrella project in north Sudan --
$730,906
MSF/Belgium health and nutrition project in Bahr el Ghazal -- $103,800
Norwegian People's Aid (NPA) support for the hospital in Yei -- $103,214
NPA food and agriculture rehabilitation program in Eastern Equatoria/Lakes
-- $1,814,139
NPA/Sudan Medical Corps health program in Eastern Equatoria -- $350,721
Replacement and transport of blankets, plastic sheeting and water jugs to
stockpile -- $442,314
Save the Children Fund (SCF)/UK emergency preparedness and rehabilitation
program in Bahr el Ghazal and Upper Nile -- $464,961
SCF/UK emergency seeds and tools project in northern Bahr el Ghazal --
$200,002
UNHCU program support to benefit IDPs in Khartoum -- $354,300
UNICEF emergency seeds and tools program in Bahr el Ghazal -- $361,273
UNICEF/OLS Southern Sector support -- $4,718,500
WFP Southern Sector support -- $1,500,000
WVRD emergency response/rehabilitation program in Bahr el Ghazal --
$309,888
WVRD seeds and tools emergency program -- $215,000
WVRD supplementary/therapeutic feeding program in Bahr el Ghazal --
$538,060
Total FY 98 BHR/OFDA Assistance (to date) -- $21,530,819
The following are ongoing activities funded in FY 1997:
ACROSS health program in south Bor and Rumbek counties -- $264,900
CRS umbrella grant in Equatoria -- $640,268
German Agro Action veterinary program in Eastern Equatoria -- $151,119
SC/US immunization and water program in South Kordofan -- $241,565
SC/US relief and rehabilitation program in South Kordofan -- $608,376
SCF/UK targeting assistance in Bahr el Ghazal and Upper Nile/Jonglei --
$155,111
Total = $2,061,339
BHR/FFP Assistance (to date)
In FY 1998 to date, BHR/FFP has contributed 60,010 MT of food commodities
valued at approximately $54.7 million to ADRA, CRS, NPA, and WFP in
support for various resettlement, drought relief and food distribution
activities.
Total FY 98 BHR/FFP Assistance (to date) = $54,734,200
State/PRM Assistance (to date)
In FY 1998 to date, State/PRM has provided $63.1 million to the UNHCR,
ICRC, and IFRC Africa-wide appeals, portions of which are used for refugee
assistance programs in Sudan and for Sudanese refugees in neighboring
countries. State/PRM has also provided $3.5 million to WFP and $1,321,369
to IRC and Lutheran World Federation for mostly Sudanese refugees in
northwest Kenya.
Total FY 98 State/PRM Assistance (to date) = $67,921,369*
*State/PRM funding to Sudan is regional and, therefore, not included in
total USG assistance figures.
BHR/OFDA Assistance FY 1998 (to date) = $21,530,819
BHR/FFP Assistance FY 1998 (to date) = $54,734,200
USAID Assistance FY 1998 (to date) = $76,265,019
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