There's Quiet But No Peace
By Charlotte Brudenell*

September 13, 2006 - (Alertnet) Four months since the signing of the peace agreement, security is yet to be established. In El Neem, a camp for internally displaced people (IDP) on the outskirts of El Daein town, in the east of South Darfur state, Sudan, the women seeking refuge say they are not safe.

Before the signing of the Darfur Peace Agreement (DPA) on May 5, the area around El Daein town was divided in two: the Sudan Liberation Army (SLA)/Movement controlled the area north of the rail line, while the Sudanese government controlled the area to the south. Attacks on their villages by armed militias forced thousands of civilians to flee their homes and find refuge in camps around El Daein town.

Since the agreement was signed, fighting between the SLA and the government has ceased, but now rebels within the SLA are fighting one another. "Before the peace agreement, we had protection from the SLA, but now there is no protection. The SLA is still outside the camp, but they are fighting among themselves because some signed the peace agreement and others refuse it," says one young man, now an IDP in El Neem camp.

"On the radio, they say, 'Peace is coming, peace is coming,' but here on the ground there is no peace," says one girl, named Asha. A friend of hers adds, "I cannot even hear about peace on the radio. I have no radio. I have nothing. We lost everything when our villages were attacked."

At the end of August, a splinter group that supports the peace agreement, known as SLA Freewill, attacked two villages north of El Daein, Abou Hadid and El Baraka. El Baraka was attacked twice, leaving more than 10 people dead. The same group is suspected of having attacked a Sudanese army barracks in Songo, 200 kilometers away.

Many men have left El Neem to return to their villages and farm while the rains are falling now during the wet season. They say they cannot permanently leave the camp with their families because of the ongoing conflict. "We do not wish to be victims of fighting between these groups," says one sheikh. "We are staying in the camps to protect ourselves," says another sheikh, Abdul. "At the moment the SLA is still in the field, the government is still there, the militias are there, and the weapons are still there," he says.

El Neem camp, where ACT-Caritas is working through local partners to provide the community with water, food, education and a community centre, is not secure. "If we go outside the camp to collect firewood, we can be attacked. And recently armed men have even come into the camp and stolen things," one woman says.

The peace agreement includes provisions for disarmament, but that has not happened yet. And it is unclear under the current circumstances how that can be enforced. For some, the trauma of war is such that they do not want to leave the relative safety of the camp. "I don't want to return," says Malka. "I am afraid. I want to stay here." For others, like Fatima, the equation is simple: "If there is security I will go. If there is no security, I will stay."

Action by Churches Together International (ACT) and Caritas Internationalis (CI) are working together in a joint response to the Darfur crisis. ACT International is a global alliance of churches and related agencies working to save lives and support communities in emergencies worldwide.

Caritas Internationalis is a confederation of 162 Catholic relief, development, and social service organizations present in 200 countries and territories. For further information, please contact: ACT Communications Officer Callie Long (mobile/cell phone +41 79 358 3171) ACT Information Officer Stephen Padre (mobile/cell phone +41 79 681 1868) Caritas Internationalis Media Officer Nancy McNally (+39 06 698 79 752)

*ACT-Caritas field communicator

From: http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/fromthefield/actcar/115832693619.htm