Save the Children pulls out of Darfur
Leading international aid charity Save the Children has announced it is to withdraw all of its workers from Darfur.
The charity believes it can no longer guarantee the workers’ safety.
It has been reviewing its operations in the Sudanese region after two staff members were shot dead on December 12, and has concluded the security situation is ‘unacceptable’.
Asked about the withdrawal, a spokesman for Save the Children said: “It’s the security situation – we can’t guarantee the safety of our workers any longer.”
The charity would not return until conditions improved, he added.
“We can only operate with the right information from the warring parties – it needs a vastly improved security situation.
“We are still committed to working in Darfur but we can’t [do that] at the moment.”
Tens of thousands of people have been killed or injured in the ongoing fighting between the Sudanese army, pro-government militia and rebel forces. In addition to the unknown number killed, over two million people have been forcibly displaced from their homes.
The announcement comes only a day after the Sudanese government claimed that it was ordering the unilateral halt to all official military activity in the area.
Peace talks are due to resume shortly, sponsored by the African Union, which has troops in Darfur to oversee the shaky ceasefire. There are signs though that they might be loosing patience, as over the weekend they warned that any more breaches would be reported to the UN Security Council, which could trigger international action against Sudan.
Jack Straw has said that Britain would support the AU at the UN if they decided to refer the matter.
