19 August 2008
At least five people have been killed and some 1,500 homes destroyed in floods at camps for internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Sudan's strife-torn Darfur region, the joint United Nations-African Union peacekeeping mission in Darfur (UNAMID) reported today.
The floods affected several camps and UNAMID said a damage assessment was under way. Non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in the area are trying to provide water, food and sanitation, it added.
UNAMID yesterday also strongly condemned recent attacks on two of its helicopters in West Darfur. It said the incidents were "unacceptable obstacles to UNAMID's mandate and mission in Darfur," and called on all parties to cease and desist from violence and aggression.
One helicopter was hit while flying approximately 90 kilometres northeast of El Geneina, the state capital sustaining damage to its radio system and rear fuselage. The leadership of the rebel group known as the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) apologized for the attack, saying that its elements had mistaken the aircraft for one operated by the Government of Sudan.
The second helicopter was fired on approximately three kilometres south of Jebel Moon but was not hit. Nobody has yet claimed responsibility for the attack.
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