7-04-06,9:51am
NAIROBI, 4 Jul 2006 (IRIN) - Violent attacks have increased in the largest camp for internally displaced persons (IDPs) in the troubled western Sudanese Darfur region, according to observers.
In Nyala, the capital of South Darfur, an analyst said the security situation in nearby Kalma camp had worsened since the signing of the Darfur peace deal on 5 May, adding that the worst attacks were taking place at night.
'There has been an increased radicalisation of youth inside the camp,' he said. 'Many people don’t accept the Darfur Peace Agreement [DPA] or the security mechanisms of the DPA.'
'The violence seems politically motivated, but it is not clear whether the perpetrators are coming from inside the camp or enter from the outside,' he added.
On Friday, unknown gunmen killed the watchman of an international nongovernmental organisation inside Kalma camp. The following two nights, the compounds of other NGOs were robbed as well.
In separate incidents on Friday, two IDPs were shot by armed men; both were wounded in the attacks. In previous attacks last week, an IDP shelter was looted and six armed men unsuccessfully attempted to steal a pumping machine at a water point.
A nighttime presence of African Union (AU) soldiers inside the camp was urgently needed, a regional observer said, but so far the cash-strapped peacekeepers were only undertaking daytime patrols.
The killing of an AU translator and the destruction of the police station by demonstrators against the DPA had forced the AU to withdraw from Kalma in early May. Noureddine Mezni, spokesperson of the AU in Sudan, said that the AU was rebuilding its civilian police station and was planning to resume its night-patrols soon.
'Some Sheiks [community leaders] have apologised for what happened and requested the AU to come back,' Mezni said. 'We hope that the presence of the African civilian police will decrease the tensions inside the camp.'
'The victims are primarily of Fur origin,' the observer said regarding the latest incidents in Kalma.
The Darfur peace deal was signed by the Sudanese government and one of the three main rebel groups, the faction of the Sudan Liberation Army (SLA), led by Minni Minnawi. Abdelwahid Mohamed al-Nur’s faction of the SLA, who has his strongest support base among the Fur - the largest ethnic group in Darfur - refused to sign, claiming it did not fulfil his key demands. Fighting between the two SLA factions, as well as targeted attacks against the AU who mediated the peace talks, have flared up since.
Meanwhile, on Saturday, IDPs in Dabanera town in South Darfur alleged that SLA-Minnawi soldiers had attacked and looted Aradip and Martal IDP camps on Thursday, killing nine people. In Kazanjadeed, about 110 km northeast of Nyala, about 200 angry inhabitants accused SLA-Minnawi soldiers of abducting a Sheikh and his two sisters on Thursday.
On Sunday, AU leaders meeting in the Gambian capital of Banjul extended the mandate of the 7,000 African peacekeepers in Darfur until the end of 2006, despite financial concerns. Sudanese president Umar al-Bashir agreed to a reinforcement of the AU force, but fell short of agreeing to the eventual deployment of a robust United Nations force for the region.
