Concerns over security of refugee camps in Darfur

An official from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has warned of the increasing security problem that internally displaced people (IDPs) face in the Sudanese region of Darfur.

Judy Cheng-Hopkins, assistant high commissioner for operations, expressed concern for the hundreds of thousands of IDPs and humanitarian workers in the area.

The physical insecurity of IDPs was of most concern, with sexual and gender-based violence and general criminality affecting people in the camps.

Ms Cheng-Hopkins said: "The situation is increasingly grim. The camps are in very poor shape and no camp is without major problems. The needs of the people are endless.

"And on top of this, humanitarian workers ? Sudanese and international ? walk a fine line every day to reach and assist the most vulnerable among the some two million IDPs scattered throughout Darfur."

Humanitarian workers are also under threat, with Ms Cheng-Hopkins learning of a car-jacking incident during her visit; no one was hurt in the particular incident.

There are 700,000 IDPs in west Darfur, and up to 300,000 have been killed and over 200 million displaced since conflict began in 2003, according to figures from the UNHCR.