The joint African Union-UN peacekeeping mission (UNAMID) has provided logistical support to the Darfur Child Disarmament, Demobilization and Reintegration (DDR) programme and the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF), which are spearheading the demobilization initiative.

By the end of the week another 17 child soldiers are expected to be released and demobilized and help with reintegration into their communities. As many as 2,000 children have been identified as eventually participating.

The programme is taking place in Tora, a village located about 60 kilometres from El Fasher, the capital of North Darfur state.

The first batch of 36 – who served with the Freewill faction of the Sudan Liberation Army (SLA), often to defend their villages – received backpacks containing school and educational supplies, as well as sports equipment, as part of their reintegration packages.

The Sudanese Government has also set up a three-year special education programme to help with reintegration.

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A team comprising representatives of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and the UN World Food Programme (WFP), as well as non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and other UN aid partners, visited two camps last week in Western Equatoria state that are home to refugees and internally displaced persons (IDPs).

The assessment team is trying to determine how best to assist the displaced people in the region before next month’s expected start of the rainy season, when it will become much more difficult for aid workers to operate.

The refugee camps at Ezo and Source Yubu, both close to the Sudanese border with the Central African Republic (CAR) and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), have had a sudden influx from people fleeing attacks by the LRA.

The northern Ugandan rebel group has launched attacks in neighbouring DRC, CAR and southern Sudan over the past year, including one　 earlier this month at Ezo.

UNHCR reported that Ezo was not directly targeted in the attack, but the nearby gunfire and artillery fire as Sudanese military forces responded sent residents into a panic.

Residents of both Ezo and Source Yubu told assessment team members that they did not want to relocate at the moment, and the imminent rainy season means any move may now not be for months.

Local authorities have promised to ensure security at the settlements, while UNHCR said it would continue to monitor the situation and provide aid.

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The €5.3 million project aims to replace the existing chillers – the refrigeration systems that produce chilled water for cooling air in commercial, residential and industrial processes – which use chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) with newer, cleaner models.

More than 460,000 tons of carbon dioxide emissions could be saved every year as a result of the programme, according to a UNIDO press release issued today, and there will also be a direct phase-out of about 80 tons of CFCs needed for servicing the chillers annually.

Hundreds of chillers in Cameroon, Egypt, Namibia, Nigeria, Senegal and Sudan will be overhauled under the project, which is being co-financed by the French Global Environment Facility.

Kandeh K. Yumkella, UNIDO’s Director-General, said the scheme “will help remove relevant barriers and includes the transfer of green technology, the creation of a working fund mechanism, the management of CFC stockpiles, and the dissemination of awareness to chiller operators and end-users, as well as to the governments of the countries involved.”

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Victor da Silva Angelo, the head of the UN peacekeeping mission to the CAR and Chad (known as MINURCAT), told Council members during an open meeting on the mission that “the gravity of the situation” in the Vakaga region now “goes beyond our capacity to respond to all the security needs.”

Armed men attacked the region’s biggest town, Birao, which lies close to the border with Chad and the Darfur region of Sudan, on two occasions last month. At least 27 people were killed in the clashes, while nearly 4,000 others were forced to flee into surrounding bushland and more than 600 homes were burned.

Large segments of the town’s population have not yet returned to Birao, Mr. Angelo reported, although MINURCAT forces are stationed in the area and are working with local authorities to try to strengthen security.

But he stressed that the insecurity is hurting humanitarian operations, leaving Vakaga “in a precarious situation… The region requires the sustained attention of the Government of the CAR and the international community. This includes the areas of Sam Oundja and Sikikede, which for the moment are effectively without a security presence. They are home to refugees and displaced populations.”

The arrival of the annual rainy season is also hampering humanitarian efforts as it renders most roads impassable and delays the arrival of aid to those in need.

Catherine Bragg, Assistant Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, voiced similar concerns when she visited Birao on Sunday as part of her week-long visit to the CAR.

Today Ms. Bragg – who is also Deputy Emergency Relief Coordinator for the UN – travelled to the north-western Central African town of Kabo, where she met with internally displaced persons (IDPs) living in nearby bushland and also held talks with local authorities and representatives of UN agencies which are operating in the area.

“I was very moved by what I was told by the people who fled into the bush because they feared for their safety,” she said. “The conditions are totally deplorable: no shelter, little food, no water, no medical services, [and] parents are worried about children who are hungry and sick.

“We, the humanitarian community, are trying to bring aid to these people but it’s not easy while the community has to take ownership of its recovery. We also call on those in power to follow through on the peace agreement and to contribute to the peace and security of this area and to alleviate the level of fear of the populations so that they can return home and to normal life.”

In his address to the Council Mr. Angelo also voiced concern at the slow deployment of MINURCAT forces – currently it has onl　y 46 per cent of its mandated strength. The mission has onl　y four out of a planned 18 military helicopters, which Mr. Angelo described as unacceptable.

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Senior UN aid official visits Central African town beset by recent violence

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