UN envoy to discus humanitarian corridors from Chad with Sudanese authorities

Thursday March 11th, 2004.

KHARTOUM, Mar 11, 2004 (Sudan tribune) -- The UN envoy for humanitarian affairs in Sudan, Tom Eric Vraalsen, will arrive in Sudan on next Saturday, on a five-day visit to discuss with Sudanese authorities new humanitarian corridors in western Sudan.

The UN envoy's visit is to hold consultations with the government on the UN proposal to open new corridors for the passage of humanitarian aid from Chad to Darfur states, in a way similar to the OLS (Operation Lifeline Sudan) operation in southern Sudan, which was a proposal rejected by the government.

Ambassador Tom Eric Vraalsen, had paid a visit to Khartoum on February 16 to discuss the relief operations with the Sudanese government who to provide access to aid workers to reach million of suffering civilians in Darfur.

President Umar Hasan al-Bashir declared earlier last month victory over the Darfur-based rebel groups, the Sudan Liberation Army and the Justice and Equality Movement, promising to unlock humanitarian access to the region.

Sudanese government had rejected UN envoy's proposal in February and asked UN and other international organisations to help persuade the Darfur rebels to lay down their arms and participate in a proposed government conference on peace and development in the region.

Humanitarian corridors from Chad may provide western rebels with the opportunity to unite with their families to re-establish social communities throughout the borders between the two countries, something that Sudanese government doesn't hope to see.

The International Committee of the Red Cross, the United Nations and others have repeatedly protested their lack of access to the western region of Darfur, where aid agencies estimate the fighting has killed hundreds of people and forced more than 700,000 to flee.

The minister for humanitarian affairs, Ibrahim Mahmud Hamid, blamed the humanitarian organization for exaggerating the humanitarian situation and the number of refugees fleeing the Darfur Region.

In a press conference held on Feb. 29, Hamid said, by exaggerating the aim of the humanitarian organizations was merely to lobby for financial support.