At the weekend, I noted increased tensions in Darfur after violence in a huge IDP camp near the town of Nyala. Today, good news: the Sudanese government has allowed humanitarian workers into the camp for the first time in over a fortnight. Meanwhile, the UN peacekeeping force (UNAMID) is using old-school tactics to secure Nyala:
UNAMID said it had agreed with the government to dig a security trench 2 meters (yards) wide by 2 meters deep around Nyala, the town most frequently targeted by the kidnappers.
“The trench … will span approximately 40 km long and is expected to be completed within 4-5 weeks,” UNAMID said in a statement, adding it had begun work on its half on Sunday. Such trenches are intended to prevent vehicles from entering a populated area on the small dirt roads which kidnappers use.
The situation sounds more and more desperate. How long can it go on?
