Save the Children Pull Out of Troubled Darfur

The UK-based charity, Save the Children will pull out of Darfur, in western Sudan after continued attacks have seen several of the agency’s staff killed.

The charity have released a statement expressing its devastation at no longer being able to serve the 250,000 children in the violence-ridden country, but said that the risks facing its workers were "unacceptable".

Recently on December 12th, two Save the Children workers were killed in an attack which has been blamed on the rebel Sudanese Liberation Army. General Festus Okonkwo reported that a ceasefire commission meeting was scheduled to take place in the Nigerian capital of Abuja, but that the two vehicles that the killed aid workers were travelling in, were recovered from an SLA camp in Jurof after the tragedy.

Okonkwo said, "The SLA attack on Save the Children UK has frightened other non-governmental organisations to the extent that they have decided to suspend all aid to the needy. All attempts to persuade some SLA commanders through their representative on the ceasefire commission to stop all activities that that are capable of causing insecurity in Darfur have so far failed. Some of the combatants have continued with their habit of snatching vehicles."

He continued by saying that the Khartoum government had breached the agreed ceasefire by sending reinforcements into the area. The general stated in his report, "Some members of the international community have started leaving the region because of the speed and intensity of the build-up of forces by the government and the reciprocal build up by the SLA and JEM in Labado and Mahajiriya, which are seen by many as the main battleground."

Previously, the United Nations pulled out of Darfur earlier this month after Save the Children’s workers were killed as their clearly marked humanitarian vehicles came under attack. Therefore, Sunday’s killings have become the second fatal incident inflicted upon the devoted aid agency over the past two months after two others were killed in October when the aid agency’s vehicle hit a landmine.

The situation in the Darfur region has been described as "genocide" over recent months, and the deteriorating circumstances over the past two years have seen tens of thousands of people killed and some 1.8 million forced to flee.

The Director General of Save the Children UK, Mike Aaronson, said that 250,000 people were currently dependant on the charity’s works in Darfur, and he stated that the withdraw was "probably the worst decision I have ever had to take in my time at Save the Children."

Aaronson has been dismayed at the ineffective efforts of international organisations such as the UN and the African Union (AU). He said that there were "endless violations" of the ceasefire by both sides, and a terrible failure to clamp down on "increasing lawlessness".

He described the Darfur situation as "an appalling indictment of the effectiveness of the international community."

He concluded by stating his belief that the withdrawal of Save the Children’s 350 staff would not be the only departure of aid workers from the troubled region of Darfur.

"This is not just about one agency deciding to leave. There is a real threat to the whole humanitarian operation at the moment. It is bad, because the humanitarian situation is still very pressing and urgent."