VZCZCXRO1655
PP RUEHROV
DE RUEHKH #0828/01 0941251
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 041251Z APR 06
FM AMEMBASSY KHARTOUM
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 2170
INFO RUCNFUR/DARFUR COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHDC PRIORITY 0163

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 KHARTOUM 000828 
 
SIPDIS 
 
AIDAC 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR AF/SPG, PRM, AND ALSO PASS USAID/W 
USAID FOR DCHA SUDAN TEAM, AF/EA, DCHA 
NAIROBI FOR USAID/DCHA/OFDA, USAID/REDSO, AND FAS 
USMISSION UN ROME 
GENEVA FOR NKYLOH 
NAIROBI FOR SFO 
NSC FOR JMELINE 
USUN FOR TMALY 
BRUSSELS FOR PLERNER 
ABUJA PASS C. HUME 
 
E.O. 12958:  N/A 
TAGS: EAID PREF PGOV MOPS PHUM SOCI SU
SUBJECT:  USAID RESPONSE TO GEREIDA DISPLACEMENTS 
 
REF:  A) 05 Khartoum 1905,    B) 05 Khartoum 2195 
 
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Summary 
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¶1.  On April 2, a USAID Darfur Field Office 
representative participated in an interagency visit to 
Gereida, South Darfur.  USAID is playing a key role in 
supporting expanded humanitarian assistance to the area, 
where interethnic fighting has caused the internally 
displaced person (IDP) population to grow from 49,000 in 
early November to approximately 90,000 currently.  The 
humanitarian community is concerned that additional 
attacks on Gereida-area villages will continue causing 
IDPs to flock to Gereida town, where resources are 
stretched already.  USAID is working with partners to 
design a program to respond to the humanitarian needs, 
which include water and sanitation services and food. 
 
---------- 
Background 
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¶2.  Gereida is located 90 kilometers (km) south of Nyala 
in Buram locality.  According to humanitarian agencies, 
approximately 40,000 IDPs arrived in Gereida between July 
and September 2004, following Arab militia attacks on 
Yassin.  Humanitarian agencies reported that the Gereida 
area remained peaceful through early 2005 due to an 
intertribal "gentlemen's agreement" that Gereida town 
would remain neutral.  Following the death of an 
influential Masalit leader who was instrumental in 
keeping peace, Arab militias, mostly consisting of ethnic 
Habania, began launching attacks on Joghana and other 
villages southeast of Gereida in early 2005.  According 
to the U.N., more than 30 villages were attacked, 
destroyed, and deserted.  In April and May 2005, the 
Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) took control of 
Gereida town.  By May and June 2005, clashes between the 
Sudan Liberation Movement/Army (SLM/A) and the JEM spread 
to Gereida town.  The SLM/A expelled the JEM, and by 
October 2005 the SLM/A took full control of Gereida town. 
The SLM/A maintains a heavy presence in Gereida. 
 
¶3.  According to U.N. figures, the Gereida IDP population 
had grown to 49,000 as of July 2005, and remained at 
approximately that size until November.  Conflict 
intensified in villages surrounding Gereida in early 
November (Ref B) after Fallata (Arab) militias began 
attacking Masalit villages.  Intertribal conflict 
resulted in the displacement of an estimated 30,000 to 
40,000 people between November and the present, according 
to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). 
Attacks on surrounding villages continue.  The U.N. 
Mission in Sudan (UNMIS) reported attacks on villages 
around Gereida on March 10 and March 18, resulting in the 
deaths of 69 civilians and abductions of an unknown 
number of women and girls.  According to humanitarian 
agencies, the belt of villages to the south, west, and 
east of Gereida is now empty. 
 
------------------------------ 
Current Humanitarian Situation 
------------------------------ 
 
¶4.  According to ICRC, between 80,000 to 90,000 IDPs now 
live in Gereida IDP camp.  The IDP population has grown 
by approximately 80 percent since November 1, when the 
U.N. Humanitarian Profile listed the Gereida IDP 
population as 49,000.  Humanitarian agencies manage 
Gereida as one camp with several major sectors:  Old 
Camp, where those who arrived in 2004 live; Je Je; Dar Es 
Salam, where approximately 20,000 IDPs live; and a yet- 
unnamed sector still receiving new arrivals.  The camp is 
spread in a horseshoe around Gereida town, with the 
opening on the north side.  The geographic size of the 
camp is unknown, as mapping exercises have not yet 
commenced.  In addition, approximately 50 to 100 Fallata 
families live in a small camp called Sadoun, located 2 km 
 
KHARTOUM 00000828  002 OF 002 
 
 
from Gereida. 
 
¶5.  Only three non-governmental organizations (NGOs) - 
Oxfam, ICRC, and ZOA - are providing services for a 
population that is approximately the size of Kalma camp, 
where more than 10 NGOs work.  A March 22 interagency 
assessment team found water, food, and relief supplies to 
be among the greatest needs.  Water and sanitation needs 
must be addressed in advance of the rainy season, when 
the combination of defecation, standing water, and high 
density will provide an excellent breeding ground for 
disease.  Oxfam runs the only 2 boreholes, which are 
currently operating at 20 hours per day.  This is 
sufficient to meet SPHERE minimum standards of 15 liters 
per person per day; however, an estimated 18,000 donkeys, 
8,000 horses, and 17,000 cattle in the camp strain the 
water supply.  Oxfam reports an immediate need for 1,000 
latrines.  The government-imposed embargo on fuel 
transport into SLM/A-held areas of South Darfur remains 
in place, but in recent weeks ICRC has been able to 
transport fuel to Gereida without problems. 
 
¶6.  An ICRC surgical team works in the area, specifically 
attending to conflict-related injuries.  ICRC is 
operating a primary health care center with one doctor 
and one midwife.  Two doctors provide additional services 
at the Gereida town hospital.  ICRC has been providing 
food rations in Gereida, but hopes to transition food 
distributions to a U.N. World Food Program (WFP) 
implementing partner as soon as possible, in order shift 
ICRC operations to the Jebel Marra region of West Darfur. 
ICRC plans to maintain Gereida health and nutrition 
programs through the end of 2006. 
 
¶7.  Protection is a major concern.  The U.N. Office for 
the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) is 
advocating for an expanded international humanitarian 
presence in Gereida.  Humanitarian agencies fear that 
continued attacks around Gereida may result in additional 
displacements of thousands of people, particularly the 
estimated 20,000 IDPs, mostly women and children, in 
Joghana camp, 27 km southeast of Gereida.  The African 
Union Mission in Sudan (AMIS) maintains a compound in 
Gereida, but the population does not trust AMIS to 
provide security.  According to UNMIS, on March 11 
approximately 1,000 IDPs and residents from Gereida and 
Joghana attacked the AMIS compound, throwing stones, 
pulling down the fence, and destroying property.  Two 
AMIS personnel were injured. 
 
-------------- 
USAID Response 
-------------- 
 
¶8.  The USAID Darfur Field Office has taken a lead role 
in coordinating increased assistance to Gereida IDPs by 
working with partners at the Khartoum and field level to 
design a program to respond to humanitarian needs in 
Gereida.  When WFP and ICRC were unable to find a partner 
to take on food distributions after ICRC pulls out, USAID 
began searching for a USAID partner that could implement 
both WFP food distributions and additional USAID-funded 
activities in the area.  USAID is engaged in discussions 
with Action Contre la Faim (ACF), which is in the process 
of submitting a proposal to carry out USAID-funded water 
and sanitation and health and nutrition activities in 
Gereida, in addition to taking on the food distribution 
caseload.  USAID will continue to monitor the situation 
and report on progress towards meeting the humanitarian 
needs of Gereida IDPs. 
 
STEINFELD