Fighting displaces over 15,000 in Sudan's Darfur

Recent fighting in Sudan's South Darfur state has displaced more than 15,000 people, UN officials said Wednesday.

The majority of those fleeing have gone to Al Salam and Kalma camps outside the state capital city of Nyala, said Adnan Khan, acting UN humanitarian coordinator in Sudan.

Khan expressed deep concern over the report that thousands of people have fled their homes as a result of fresh fighting between the armed movements and the Sudanese armed forces together with its allied paramilitary groups in the Um Gunya area of South Darfur, Xinhua reported.

He further explained that as these camps have also received displaced people last year, amenities like medical care are already scarce. Humanitarian agencies are arranging for extra water and food supplies for the new arrivals in Al Salam and Kalma camps. He also added that 2013 saw more people displaced than in any single year, since the Darfur conflict broke out in 2004.

"After years of fighting in Darfur, not only has the displacement affected the people multiple times, but it has also placed a great strain on return and recovery efforts across the region," Khan noted.

The UN-African Union Mission in Darfur Monday expressed deep concern over the escalating violence in Sudan's South Darfur state.

"The violence has resulted in the burning of a number of villages and the displacement of a large number of civilians in the vicinity of the Um Gunya area of Nyala," the mission said.

Local media reported Monday that armed clashes took place in South Darfur between semi-regular forces, known as Rapid Intervention Force, and Darfur rebels.