Thousands displaced by military activity

["SCIO" <SCIO at maf.or.ke> (by way of Enrico Marcandalli <ramalkandy at iol.it>)]

Intense military activity in Western Bahr el Ghazal since last May has
displaced an estimated 57, 000 people who are now in desperate need of
humanitarian assistance.

Speaking on June 13 on arrival from Raja, which the SPLA/M captured from
the government on June 2, 2001, the Catholic Bishop of Diocese of Rumbek,
Ceasar Mazzolari, described as very desperate the humanitarian situation
in the affected region.

My first appeal is for food to be dropped at Raga to help attract the
desperate civilians now scattered in the surrounding areas to return to
their homes (in Raga), said Bishop Mazzolari.

I have seen the place and can confirm that there is so much suffering. I
appeal to all people of goodwill to seize the earliest opportunity to
help save as many lives as possible.

NGOs should move in to assess the situation with a view to setting up
temporary bases to serve as feeding centres and to offer medical
services. 

Since the capture of Raja, huge civilians populations have fled the town
in fear for their lives. Many have been reported to be heading
northwards, a largely desert area where water and food are difficult to
come by.

Others, mostly of Arab origin, began deserting the town much earlier as
rumours about the imminent SPLA attack spread. It is reported that at
some stage, the two groups on the run met and the Arabs turned on their
southern compatriots, killing several of them.

The Bishop expressed fear that Khartoum many southerners headed
northwards, particularly the children, would die of hunger and
thirst.

The SPLA, noted the Bishop, has been doing a commendable job in trying to
call back to Raja the civilians trying to escape towards the desert in
the north.

The church has left a team of its personnel on the ground to run our very
small and run-down dispensary and we appeal for assistance to help beef
up our medical and relief activities. 

Angered by the SPLA triumph, Khartoum has bombed Raja several times since
it was captured.

On the morning of June 3, a Russian Antonov bomber dropped six to eight
bombs on the town some of which hit the Church-run Comboni Secondary
School. A day later, another Antonov bomber hit the city, apparently
aiming for the bridge on Raga River.

On the morning of June 6, three bombs were dropped at Raja. Details of
casualties were not readily available. A day later a plane with its
lights off, dropped bombs on a heavily populated part of Raja in the
neighbourhood of the airstrip, killing at least four people. Several
others were injured. Among the dead were the wife and a child of a Church
community leader.

Since its capture, no humanitarian agencies have moved to Raja to assist
the civilians.

In his appeal, Bishop Mazzolari said the Catholic Church could organise
for temporary accommodation for any agency willing to assist the people
of Raja. The town can be accessed by humanitarian agency through Kenya
(Lokichoggio), Uganda, Central Africa Republic or Sudan s western
Equatoria.

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Charles Omondi<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns =
"urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" />

Editor, Sudan Catholic Information Office

e-mail: SCIO at maf.or.ke

Tel 254-2-577616