Appeal for Sudan

Sudan Infonet, press release, 6 Feburary 1998

Nairobi, February 5, 1998
PRESS RELEASE

A major humanitarian disaster is unfolding in the Southern Sudan region of Bahr el Ghazal and we are appealing to the international community to put pressure on the Government of Sudan (GOS) to allow Operation Lifeline Sudan (OLS) and other NGOs to fly in food aid to that region. We believe the decision of the GOS to ban all relief flights to Bahr el Ghazal on 4th February is unjustified and is in violation of international law and other Geneva Conventions relating to the rights of civilians to humanitarian assistance.

According to our member churches on the ground, 22 people, majority of whom are children and the elderly, have already died of hunger, and over 90,000 have been forced from their homes due to the fierce fighting going on between GOS and SPLA forces in and around the Southern Sudan second largest town of Wau.

Reports from our field officers speak of a possible re-run of 1986 when half a million southern Sudanese were consumed by hunger as a result of GOS food denial policy. In the area of Mapel alone, more than 45,000 displaced people are on the move, and thousands of others are reported to be roaming in the bushes in search of wild fruits and shelter.

We call on the international community to take bold and decisive action, which combine stronger political pressure and more effective legal safeguards to the humanitarian situation in the south. More pressure should be exerted on the government to reverse its decision, and allow OLS and other humanitarian agencies to airlift relief food to the affected civilians.

Distributed by Sudan Infonet
An Information Service of the Sudan Working Group--USA
SudanInfonet@compuserve.com
2/6/98 1:20 PM