UN taking food to new Darfur refugees in Central African Republic

U.N. agencies are taking food and other supplies as fast as possible by aircraft and truck to 2,650 refugees from southern Darfur who have crossed into the Central African Republic, a spokeswoman said Tuesday.

The refugees, who fled from attacks on their town of Dafak, "are in a desperate condition in the east of the country where they have been surviving mainly on mangoes for the last few weeks," said Jennifer Pagonis, spokeswoman for the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees.

The food is rapidly running out, she said. The World Food Program is planning to fly in 15 metric tons (17 short tons) of high-nutrition biscuits via the capital Bangui this week.

A convoy that left Bangui on Sunday is carrying 80 metric tons (90 short tons) of food plus shelter materials, clothes, soap and 600 water cans to the refugees in the central eastern town of Sam-Ouandjia, near the border with Sudan, said Pagonis. It is expected to take at least 10 days to arrive because of the poor road conditions.

She said the refugees began arriving in late May after repeated attacks on Dafak and surrounding villages.

"They said their homes were bombarded by planes and helicopters and they were attacked by men in military clothing," Pagonis said. "More than half of the refugees are children under 18 years with the majority of the adult refugee population women including 64 pregnant women and 147 mothers with newborn babies."

They made the 200-kilometer (125-mile) trek by foot and donkey, officials said.

The refugees have only a nearby creek for their water supply, she added. As a result, some refugees have fallen ill with diarrhea and others with malaria.

A doctor from the World Health Organization is already with the refugees and two nurses are on their way, Pagonis said.

The convoys are also bringing in seeds and agricultural tools, water purification sets, some medical supplies and basic household items.

Central African Republic has suffered decades of army revolts, coups and rebellions since it gained independence from France in 1960. Its internal problems have been compounded by trouble in the region, and it currently hosts more than 10,000 refugees, mainly from Chad, Sudan, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. In the northern part, there are also more than 212,000 people who have been displaced from within the country.

More than 200,000 people in Darfur have been killed and 2.5 million chased from their homes since fighting broke out in 2003 between ethnic African rebels and the pro-government janjaweed militia. A beleaguered, 7,000-strong African Union force has been unable to stop the fighting and neither has a peace agreement signed a year ago year between the government and one rebel group.