Photo by Salah Mohammed, UNAMID.
UNAMID’s Joint Special Representative (JSR), Jeremiah Mamabolo, accompanied by Amy Martin, UN Deputy Humanitarian Coordinator for Darfur, and Major-General Fida Hussain, Acting Force Commander, UNAMID, visited the victims of the recent fire at Korma camp for internally displaced persons (IDPs), North Darfur, on 15 June 2017. The fire occurred on 9 June and destroyed some 700 homes; five displaced persons were killed as well.
Speaking to the internally displaced gathered at Korma camp, Mr. Mamabolo expressed his condolences to the victims and assured them of UNAMID’s support. Furthermore, he emphasized the need for sustainable peace across Darfur. “While the Mission provides support to Darfuri people affected by incidents such as this fire, we have to work towards a bigger solution that leads to a peaceful, negotiated settlement of the ongoing conflict here,” the UNAMID Head averred.
Zurab Elzarov, head of the Mission’s Protection of Civilians and Humanitarian Liaison Section, on his part, spoke about UNAMID’s support to UN Country Team partners in transporting relief items to those in need at the camp.
Addressing the camp’s residents, Ms. Martin detailed the UN Country Team’s efforts to provide food, water, sanitation facilities, plastic sheeting, sleeping mats and cooking sets to the people of Korma camp. Furthermore, she thanked UNAMID for mobilizing its resources on the ground to provide water for the residents of the camp and enable relief supplies to reach them safely.
Ms. Martin’s appreciation for UNAMID was echoed by the Yousif Mustafa, Manager, Korma camp, who further requested the Mission’s personnel to provide additional security measures for displaced civilians during the upcoming farming season. Mr. Mustafa also called upon the Mission to increase the number of water points in the area, provide educational and health facilities within the camp as well as promote reconciliation efforts among the different communities living in the area.
On his part, Abdulsalam Adam, the chair of the committee of affected IDPs, highlighted the critical need for basic amenities such as water, food and shelter at the camp. Mr. Adam also said that more than 1,000 families suffered losses due to the fire, and that, in the past three years, there have been some 20 similar fire incidents at Korma camp.
In addition to meeting with the displaced persons at the Korma camp, Mr. Mamabolo visited the center from where humanitarian relief was being distributed as well as the medical clinic at the camp.