From: barnhart@netcom.com (Aaron Barnhart)
Subject: IPS:SUDAN: MASS STARVATION LOOMS IN WAR
Date: Thu, 20 Aug 92 23:01:15 GMT
Organization: Netcom
Reply-To: barnhart@netcom.com

Copyright Inter Press Service 1992, all rights reserved.  Permission to re-
print within 7 days of original date only with permission from 'newsdesk'.

Reference: Agriculture
Title: SUDAN: MASS STARVATION LOOMS IN WAR ZONE


nairobi, aug 15 (ips) -- at least one million people are in dire
need of relief food in southern sudan who have been put beyond
reach by the raging war between government forces and the rebel
sudan people's liberation army (spla).

according to the world food programme (wfp), relief aid
workers have no access to the starving population and a major
disaster could happen if food supplies are not made available in
areas around juba, the capital of southern sudan.

''continuing failure to reach people in need of food aid
could lead to a major disaster in southern sudan of the same
dimension as the 1988 catastrophe when tens of thousands of
people died'', the wfp warned in a statement released here
saturday.

there is grave concern over the rapidly deteriorating food
sistuation in juba where food stocks are practically finished
and wau, the capital of bahr el ghazal province, where they are
already exhausted.

in accessible areas south of juba, at least one million
people displaced since the beginning of the offensive early this
year, need urgent relief assistance.

many people in rural areas, to whom access is denied by the
warring parties, have been displaced for the second or third
time. the plight of hundreds of thousands of others living in
inaccessible areas remains unknown, the wfp said.

until two weeks ago, only one small relief agency, norwegian
people's aid, was left operating in the area but it could not
meet rising needs of the people.

conditions in which the internally displaced are living
continues to deteriorate and the level of food supply, provision
of shelter, blankets and basic health care are inadequate.

there is widespread destitution, malnutrition, disease and
death. most affected are women and children in rural areas and
government held towns, as well as families affected by
relocation in urban areas.

''delivery of food to the affected population has become
increasingly difficult. in many cases it has become virtually
impossible because of the absence of an agreement, if not
outright refusal of both the government of sudan and spla to
open river, road and air corridors for the delivery of relief
aid'', the wfp reported.

without security, delivery of relief aid in conflict areas
would continue to be constrained, the u.n. agency noted.
(more/ips)


sudan: mass (2)

large numbers of people are fleeing into kenya, ethiopia
and uganda in search of food.  they are in arriving in desperate
conditions, with many dying from starvation.

food airlifts, the only means of reaching the hardest-to-access
areas, are repeatedly disrupted because of fuel shortages and
lack of security clearance.

wfp estimates 80,000 metric tonnes of relief food are
required in torit, nimule, sobat river area, juba, bahr el
ghazal and upper nile state.

while members of the dinka ethnic group, displaced by
factional fighting within the spla in january, are regrouping
along torit-nimule road, residents of kapoeta and torit towns
have fled towards nimule following a government offensive.

the wfp estimates internally displaced persons in need of
assistance at 136,000 and their food needs were put at 14,000
tonnes. the norwegian people's aid agency has set up camps at
atapi and aswa to cater for some of these people.

in sobat river area, wfp has been providing food to nasir,
waat and akobo using both airlifts and barges since the
beginning of the year.

in juba, where the spla and government troops are locked in a
fierce battle, the security situation remains tense. daily life
in the city has been disrupted by the fighting and no food is
availble on the market. all flights to the city have been
suspended.

meanwhile, crop failure in the bahr el ghazal and ethnic
clashes between dinka and nuer people have combined with
military activities to displace around 200,000 people.

the wfp said it was making efforts to resume as soon as
possible its airlift operations to wau, suspended since jun. 14.

in the upper nile province, an estimated 340,000 newly
displaced people, particularly in nadgiar, tonga, liang and
kadok-rural areas, require about 24,000 tonnes of emergency food
aid until december. (end/ips/ha/ar/92)


-- 
Aaron (Barnhart@netcom.com) -- posting from Evanston, Illinois
Newsgroups: soc.culture.african,sanet.talk.politics