Fears grow for Darfur camps

Fears were rising of crises in three Darfur refugee camps, charity workers and the US said last night.

The US embassy in Khartoum released a statement saying it was "deeply concerned" by the situation in Zamzam camp in north Darfur. Since some international charities were told by the government to leave the camp there has been an influx of 36,000 people fleeing recent fighting. The international community is deeply unhappy about the charity expulsions.

Sudanese government aid officials said the expelled groups' work would be covered by remaining international organisations and local groups that authorities were planning to bring into the area. SOS Children is deeply rooted, non-political and managed locally and so far has been allowed to remain and work in Darfur.

But an anonymous charity worker for another charity is reported as saying "IDPs (internally displaced people) in Kalma and Kass are not co-operating with the government refusing all access to the government and local aid groups even if it means receiving less water or a greater risk of disease."

The workers said residents had blocked all state deliveries of fuel for their own generators, set up to pump fresh water in to the camp, raising the risk of the spread of diseases like cholera. Camp leaders were also refusing to let Ministry of Health officials vaccinate residents against a new meningitis outbreak, he added.

Kalma and Kass are home to tens of thousands of people who fled their homes after raids and attacks by government troops and militias during the Darfur conflict.

Written by Hayley Jarvis for SOS Children