New poll shows agencies in Darfur cannot talk openly about the conflict

A new poll by Reuters AlertNet has found that most aid agencies in Darfur cannot talk openly about the humanitarian situation in the region for fear of retribution from the Sudanese government.

The survey, released today by the Reuters Foundation’s humanitarian news service, shows that four-fifths of those who took part said they were unable to talk about who was behind attacks on civilians and aid workers.

Martyn Broughton, editor of AlertNet, said the results of the poll reinforce suggestions that the world is unaware of the actual conditions in the country’s south western region.

He said, “The aid agencies are telling us that they are staying quiet because they don’t want to risk their work with the people in the camps. Journalists and the public depend on those agencies to know what’s going on. But we’ve shown that they’re afraid to talk. Self-censorship may be another crisis in Darfur.”

One frightening statistic from the survey shows that two-thirds of the forty-six agencies that took part said that they cannot discuss the widespread threat of rape in the region. One aid worker told AlertNet, “Rape is a completely taboo subject. The Sudanese government does not want to hear about it.”

Meanwhile, further violence in the north of Darfur has been blamed on government forces. The Sudan Liberation Movement (SLM) said its fighters were attacked by aerial bombardments at the weekend.

The United Nations Mission in Sudan (UNMIS) said violence has increased in recent days as government forces have clashed with several rebel groups, including the SLM, but it said that it was unable to estimate the number of casualties caused.

Last week, the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) called for government security forces to be investigated for their alleged involvement in recent attacks in Darfur.

Read more about the history of the conflict in Sudan.