(2,274) newly displaced families live in very poor humanitarian conditions in Shagra, west of Al-Fashir, the capital of North Darfur

Al-Fashir – July 18, 2023

 2274 newly displaced families who fled Tawila Locality due to the armed conflict live in extremely poor humanitarian conditions, including children, women, and the elderly. They have been accommodated in several centers, some in schools in Shagra and its neighboring villages in North Darfur.

In this regard, HDPO visited the IDPs in the camps of the area (Jughi, Um Hagalij, and Shagra Hillat Abu Bakr) in the Shagra area, west of Al-Fashir to count and register the newly displaced people who fled the Tawila Locality recently. The survey team arrived today, Tuesday, July 18, 2023, as the number of IDPs who were displaced from the camp areas (Rwanda A, B, Dali, Burgou, Argo, Hilla Nesma, Tawila al-Omda, Franga, and Dibba Naira) who were hosted in the village of (Jughi), north of Shagra were 1,270 families, the number of individuals reached 6,129, and the special cases were 167 cases.

There is an urgent need for shelter materials, as all the IDPs live in the open; there are no tents, no shady trees, no institution that protects them from heat or rain, and the highest priority is environmental sanitation, non-foodstuffs, food, life-saving medicines, and water.

By touring the camp, the HDPO team found that the IDPs live in a tragic situation, especially during the rains, the hot sun, and the scarcity of food and clean water that threatens their lives.

As for the Um Hagali camp, the number of families reached 270 families, 1800 individuals, and 26 special cases, and the number of children under five years reached 207 children including 33 cases of acute malnutrition.

The average cases are 56 children, and the normal cases are 118 children. The Um Hagalij camp suffers from a lack of shelter materials, food, and adequate toilets. The IDPs urgently need environmental sanitation and water. Medicines are completely non-existent, despite the presence of medical personnel. No organization has so far intervened in any humanitarian field other than the popular efforts of the people of the host regions.

There is a refugee family from the Republic of Chad consisting of 3 members, a man, his wife, and their son, and the wife is pregnant. It is mentioned that the family fled from the state of West Darfur, El Geneina, during the recent events, and now they are with the displaced people of Um Hagalij camp.

The HDPO team observed that the IDPs in the village of Um Hagalij and the Shagra area grind the food they get from the host community in one place and then divide it among all the individuals in the centers, but the host community is unable to provide the foodstuffs because their stocks are running out.

In the Shagra camp, Hillat Abu Bakr, the IDPs are in Shagra (B) in three camps distributed in Al-Tadamon School for Boys and Girls and Shagra Secondary School for Girls. The number of families reached 724 families, 3695 individuals, 1113 children, 92 breastfeeding women, and 46 pregnant.

The Shagra camp, Hillat Abu Bakr also suffers from an acute shortage of food, health, especially medicines, examinations, environmental sanitation, and shelter materials. These services represent a top priority, and the displaced appealed to organizations and charitable bodies to intervene urgently to save them.

Concerning water in the village of Jughi, there is one water source belonging to the Governmental Drinking Water Authority, one well and a quarter of an inch, and a water storage tank with a capacity of 25 cubic meters, and it is the only source for the IDPs camp and the residents of the area.

Due to the pressure of the population, water pollution was likely found by using two reusable containers in the camp. Water is transported to the camp via a vehicle drawn by animals (cart) and then transferred to temporary storage tools in the camp (Tiga Tanks), and from there, it is transported to families through two small containers.

As for the toilets, the school has 4 fixed toilets, but they are out of service (full). The IDPs have resorted to digging temporary toilets by digging a small hole, an average of one meter deep and about 30 cm in diameter, to answer the call of nature. This type of toilet represents less than 20 percent of the total households who own this type of toilet, which may cause environmental pollution in the event of heavy rain.

There are no fixed bathhouses, as bathrooms were constructed with municipal materials (reeds, sticks, and straw branches) for each family through self-effort, and there is a phenomenon of defecation in the open around the camp.

In the village of Um Hagalij, there is only one source of water in the area that is completely out of order, and private wells are used to bring water to the camp. At first, the responsibility of water was for the host population, but at present, the displaced families are forced to buy water.

HDPO did not rule out the pollution of the water sources inside the camp because the water is transported by containers. The displaced people transported it to the camp via a vehicle drawn by animals (cart) to temporary storage tools in the camp (Tiga Tanks) and from there to the families through two small containers.

The camp has 6 fixed toilets in the center, and they are all used by the displaced (women), and it is not sufficient for a large number of families; men and children defecate in the open.

As for the village of Shagra, the main source of water in this camp is the city water station, which is near one of the centers, but the fuel and electricity cuts from the station prevented the presence of water for about ten days. As a result, the IDPs have to buy water from private wells. One jerrycan is 100 Sudanese pounds transported using donkeys and jerrycans.

There is also water pollution in the containers for storing and transporting water, which has led to many cases of diarrhea and other diseases.

Also, the IDPs in this camp lack water containers. There are only two fixed containers belonging to the government school to distribute water to families.

The center has 4 fixed toilets used by the family, especially women, men, and children, but due to the interruption of the water supply, the IDPs had to resort to the open to defecate. Also, there are no fixed baths for bathing. Baths were constructed with municipal materials (reeds, sticks, straw branches) for each family through self-effort. There is a phenomenon of defecation in the open around the camp.