Displaced Coordination: Army Ban on Aid via Chad Puts Millions at Risk of Starvation

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The General Coordination for Displaced Persons and Refugees stated today, Tuesday, that millions of people in the Darfur region of Sudan are at risk of dying of hunger after the Sudanese government decided to ban the delivery of aid through Chad.

The authorities aligned with the army in Sudan allowed aid to enter Darfur through Chad, a step that raised concerns in the United States. The spokesperson for the US Department of State, Matthew Miller, said last Friday that the United States is extremely concerned about "the recent decision by the army to ban humanitarian aid across the Chadian border and reports that the Sudanese armed forces are hindering the arrival of aid to communities in areas controlled by the Rapid Support Forces."

A statement from the coordination, obtained by "Citizens," expressed its "deep regret about the decision taken by the Port Sudan government to prevent humanitarian aid from entering through the Chadian borders, depriving more than five million people of access to food security."

The statement, signed by Adam Rajal, the official spokesperson for the General Coordination for Displaced Persons and Refugees, added that "denying food and relief to the displaced is a war crime and a blatant violation of human rights, and food should not be used as a weapon against innocent citizens."

Eddie Rowe, the director of the World Food Programme in Sudan, had told reporters last week that authorities had restricted the programs operations from Chad to Darfur across the border.

Rajal called on the parties to the conflict not to use the Sudanese society, especially the displaced people in the camps, as "cards to achieve their self-interests without considering the critical humanitarian situation." He urged the United Nations, the African Union, and the UN Security Council to expedite addressing this critical humanitarian situation.