British aid agency Oxfam said on Saturday it was withdrawing permanently from Gereida in Sudan's Darfur region, home to the largest population of Darfuris driven from their homes over four years of conflict. In a coordinated attack on three aid agency bases in Gereida in December, an aid worker was raped, an Oxfam staff member badly beaten and others subjected to mock executions. Since then most operations have remained suspended in the area controlled by the former rebel faction of Minni Arcua Minnawi, the only leader to sign a May 2006 peace deal with the Khartoum government.
"Despite our repeated requests, none of the perpetrators have been held to account, none of the assets stolen in the attack have been returned, and we have not received credible assurances that similar attacks would not take place if we did return," said Caroline Nursey, Oxfam's Sudan programme manager.
| Perhaps it's because the janjawed and the gummint don't take 'requests'? |
Oxfam provided water and sanitation, healthcare and livelihood education to 130,000 Darfuris encamped around Gereida town. The International Committee for the Red Cross will take over the provision of water. "As usual in Darfur, the people who will suffer most are the civilians who have already been attacked, forced from their homes and had their lives thrown into turmoil. For the last six months they have not had the level of assistance that they need," said Nursey. |