Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Khartoum (Agenzia Fides) - A conflict that has been ongoing since 2003, claiming the lives of over 300,000 people. This is the drama of Darfur, a region of western Sudan, where since February 2003, a series of armed groups have launched rebel attacks against the central government in Khartoum. The suppression of the revolt was entrusted to government-supported militias, mostly affecting the civilian population, forced to take refuge in refugee camps in Darfur, as well as in Chad and the Central African Republic.
In his appeal in the Regina Caeli on Sunday, April 27, Pope Benedict XVI recalled the “tragedy without end for hundreds of thousands of defenseless and abandoned persons” in this region.
According to John Holmes, UN undersecretary-general for Humanitarian Affairs, the conflict has claimed the lives of 300,000. Sudanese authorities reject the number, saying that according to their calculations, only 10,000 people have died in Darfur. Holmes’ figure includes not only those who have died from the fighting, but also those indirect victims of the conflict: those who have died as a result of illnesses or malnutrition caused by the situation of violence and war. The UN undersecretary-general for Humanitarian Affairs does admit, however, that the figure of 300,000 is not exactly a scientifically based figure, but "it's a reasonable extrapolation." In 2006, the UN confirmed that the number of victims of Darfur was 200,000. As the situation has not improved, it’s reasonable to believe that “that figure must be much higher now,” said Holmes, who also claims that of Darfur’s 6 million inhabitants, over 4 million have been affected by the conflict in some way. Some 2.45 million people are sheltering elsewhere in Sudan and 260,000 more in the neighboring countries of Chad and the Central African Republic.
In order to protect and bring aid to civilians, a joint force of UN/African Union troops has been formed. However, only 9,000 of the 26,000 men planned to be deployed, have actually been deployed. In order to complete an operation in a region that is roughly the size of France, the soldiers of the international force will need a helicopter fleet and very few countries are willing to offer the necessary helicopters.
The conflict’s origin is linked to the power relations inside Sudan, in which, various interests are at stake from diverse powers who are more interested in the potential wealth of the region, from petroleum to gum arabic. (LM) (Agenzia Fides 29/4/2008; righe 32, parole 400)
