URGENT STATEMENT

GOVERNMENT CONTINUES ITS UNCHECKED OFFENSIVE ON THE CIVILIAN POPULATION IN THE NUBA MOUNTAINS

The following urgent statement is issued by theNuba Relief Rehabilitation and Development Organisation (Contact address: nrrdo@maf.org)

The continued denial of humanitarian access and protection for civilians in the SPLM controlled areas of the Nuba Mountains, means only one thing for the civilians population residing there: that the military forces from the Khartoum regime continue to target, abduct and kill ordinary people and do everything within their power to violently displace them from their productive land and means of livelihood and survival.

Despite a limited number of visits by the UN in 2000, the GoS has finally refused to concede access to the SPLM areas while appealing for an increase in humanitarian assistance in the GoS controlled areas. While the United Nations was negotiating humanitarian access to the SPLM controlled areas of the Nuba Mountains (2000), the war against the civilians of Nuba continued. The intentions of the most recent attacks (December) by the forces of the Khartoum government were, once again, unambiguosly aimed at the innocent children, women and men in the areas. The major attacks on civilians (2000/1) have been:

The impact on the civilians has been devastating: death; forced seizure to GoS garrison towns (often being used as forced labour by the military); forced displacement causing people to move to either neighboring communities for shelter or, out of desperation, to GoS controlled towns in search of becoming exhausted. Because of a recent poor harvest, the region is reporting no surplus areas and because of widespread insecurity, there is minimal to no access to grain markets. As a result, the host communities are unable to support the recently displaced. With no available local solution, the burden of support should turn to humanitarian relief, however the GoS has blockaded this last resort.

The fact that these attacks have been going on while the UN negotiations were taking place, reflects both the true intentions of the Khartoum government towards the people of Nuba, and the fact that these atrocities can continue with impunity. NRRDO, on behalf of the people of Nuba residing in SPLM administered areas, calls on all those who profess to uphold humanitarian and human rights principles, to speak with one unequivocal voice against these transgressions and act in solidarity with the suffering people of Sudan to see their human rights protected.

• By making sure the call for humanitarian access does not fade, and is vigorously resuscitated and acted upon;
• By demanding an immediate halt of GoS violence against civilians;
• By being clear about, and keeping a moral distance from, any unintentional actions of the humanitarian community that might reinforce the Khartoum government's policies to destroy the culture, dignity and human rights of the people of Nuba.
• By materially supporting the insufficient efforts that are being made to address the needs of the war affected communities in the area.

A more detailed report of the impact of the recent attacks on the civilian population is available from NRRDO on request. (Contact address: nrrdo@maf.org)