SUDAN: Egeland cuts short visit to displaced camp after fracas

May 8, 2006 (IRIN) - United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs Jan Egeland was forced to curtail his visit to a camp for internally displaced persons in Sudan's restive western region of Darfur on Monday when an initially peaceful demonstration to show support for a planned deployment of a UN peacekeeping force turned rowdy.

Egeland was meeting representatives from nongovernmental organisations at the Kalma camp, near the town of Nyala, when the crowd complained that a translator working for an international NGO had not correctly interpreted what they were saying. They beat the interpreter before he was put in a vehicle and driven out of the camp, according to Dawn Blalock, spokeswoman for the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs in Sudan. Two UN cars were damaged during the fracas.

The demonstrators also attacked the compound of the African Union (AU) peacekeeping force near the camp, but nobody was injured. "The incident is indicative of the tense environment in IDP [internally displaced persons] camps in Darfur," said Blalock.

Egeland's convey returned to Nyala, the capital of South Darfur, where he met the governor. The envoy was due to travel to Khartoum, Sudan's capital, later on Monday, and is scheduled to have talks with senior government officials on Tuesday, Blalock said.

The demonstrators at Kalma camp, which is home to an estimated 90,000 displaced people, shouted slogans such as "Yes to international troops!" to show their support for a proposed deployment of UN troops in Darfur. The UN peacekeepers would replace the 7,000-strong AU force that has been struggling to protect civilians in an area the size of France with very limited resources and a weak mandate. Blalock attributed some of the tension at the camp - which is run by the Norwegian Refugee Committee - to the absence of a camp coordinator, who was expelled by Sudanese authorities in April.

On Sunday, Egeland had called for the strengthening of the AU troops in Darfur to make the mission more effective before the proposed UN force is assembled and readied for deployment. "We need a real strengthening of the AU force in the interim period," Egeland told IRIN after visiting the town of Gereida in South Darfur on Sunday.

The pan-African body on 10 March extended the mandate of its mission in Sudan until 30 September, after which it would transfer the operation to the UN. However, the Sudanese government has been reluctant to allow the deployment of UN troops to its territory.

Egeland's visit to Darfur came two days after the largest of Darfur's three rebel groups, the Sudan Liberation Movement/Army (SLM/A), bowed to international pressure and agreed "with reservations" to sign a peace deal with the Sudanese government following protracted peace talks in the Nigerian capital, Abuja. Two smaller groups have refused to sign the peace deal, demanding more concessions from Khartoum.

The UN estimates that 3.6 million people are affected by conflict in Darfur, of whom 1.8 million are internally displaced and 200,000 have fled to neighbouring Chad. More than 200,000 people have been killed as a result of violence between the Sudanese government and rebel movements. The rebels accuse Khartoum of neglect and oppression of the people of Darfur and of sponsoring violent attacks by a militia group, called the Janjawid, on civilians, including women and children. Khartoum denies the allegations.

From: http://irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=53204&SelectRegion=East_Africa&SelectCountry=SUDAN