100,000 displaced in Sudan's Blue Nile state

Sept. 14, 2011

KHARTOUM, Sudan, Sept. 14 (UPI) -- Tens of thousands of people in Sudan's border state of Blue Nile have been displaced by conflict between Sudanese forces and rebels, a U.N. agency said.

The U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, in a report on Sudan, said it wasn't able to get an accurate assessment about the situation in Blue Nile state because of lack of access.

Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir recently called for a cease-fire in South Kordofan and denied reports of mass graves and ethnic violence in the area bordering South Sudan. Conflict, however, has spread to Blue Nile state.

OCHA in a statement said that fighting between Sudanese forces and the Sudan People's Liberation Movement-North is estimated to have displaced around 100,000 people.

Sudan claims the reports of violence along the border are overblown. OCHA in its update said that while the situation in Blue Nile state was improving, the situation remains tense.

Displacement continues in South Kordofan, the U.N. agency said but humanitarian groups were able to get some assistance to refugees in the area.

OCHA said, however, that the Sudanese government has restricted the movement of U.N. staff in Blue Nile state.

Source: United Press International (UPI).
Link: http://www.upi.com/Top_News/Special/2011/09/14/100000-displaced-in-Sudans-Blue-Nile-state/UPI-21151316009491/.