The Swiss-based NGO Medair is greatly concerned by reports concerning the impact of recent fighting on the clinics and water & sanitation activities it supports in two towns in West Darfur.

Although information is difficult to verify in this remote region, attacks on the towns of Silea, Sirba, and Abu Zuruj have been widely reported. Medair has worked in this area since 2001, providing health care in Sirba, and both health care and water & sanitation in Abu Zuruj.

No international staff were present in these towns at the time of these attacks, due to access restrictions which have been in place since December 2007. However, Medair is urgently trying to confirm reports of damage or looting to one of its compounds, and of the death or injury of Sudanese humanitarian staff associated with its projects.

"We are greatly concerned by the humanitarian impact of these attacks," said Mark Screeton, Medair's Programmes Manager. "Deaths of civilians have been reported, and large numbers of people have been forced to flee, including across the border into Chad."

Medair is continuing to monitor the situation in collaboration with other agencies, and is seeking ways to provide assistance to the communities affected by these events.

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Medair is an international non-governmental organization (NGO) with its operational headquarters based in Switzerland. It has worked in Sudan since 1995, and in West Darfur since 2001, where Medair currently provides access to primary health care and water & sanitation for up to 200,000 conflict-affected persons. These activities are carried out in collaboration with the Humanitarian Aid Commission and other Government of Sudan agencies; with UN agencies including OCHA, UNICEF, and WHO; and with NGOs such as CRS and Concern. Financial support is received from the governments of the United Kingdom (DfID), USA (USAID/OFDA), and Switzerland (SDC).

Elsewhere in Sudan, Medair works with war-displaced people in Khartoum, and supports access to primary health care and safe water & sanitation in the Nuba Mountains area of South Kordofan. In Southern Sudan, Medair provides emergency medical and water assistance for outbreaks, large people movements, and nutritional emergencies in a number of locations across the region, as well as improving access to primary health care and safe water sources in Upper Nile.

Medair's life-saving activities are dependent upon private financial support. To contribute to this work, please visit www.medair.org (Sudan section.)