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Night Patrol

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20090301-UNAMID-OChassot-NightPatrol-1.jpgWe bumped out of the police post well after dark. Our little convoy of three armoured personnel carriers and two bullet-proof Land Cruisers bumped off towards Abu Shouk camp, home to about 50,000 displaced people just outside el Fasher, capital of North Darfur.

It must have made for quite a sight. Many of the Indonesian police officers, armed with assault rifles, wore dust masks and goggles. With their blue helmets and body armour they could have passed for extras in a Star Wars movie. To the residents of Abu Shouk, they must have looked like aliens, visitors from another world - which they were.

We passed a brickmaking site where deep holes had been excavated to help make the camp's increasing number of permanent homes. In the darkness the pits and mounds took on the appearance of a desolate moonscape.

A swing to the right took us inside the sleeping camp itself - very different to the life, sounds and smells of Abu Shouk by day. A few donkeys dozed by the side of the dusty track. A cat shot across our path, startled by the headlights. And a few children loomed out of the darkness, their dust-covered faces making them look like ghosts.

Unamid has been running night patrols for the past week or so around Abu Shouk and al Salaam. The few residents we met seemed grateful. They complained that armed gangs had been creating mayhem.

"It's not very safe here because people come in at night and close down the shops," said Mariam Omar Abdullah. "That happened yesterday."

Unamid is struggling to make an impact in an area the size of Spain. Its 15,000 personnel are woefully inadequate in a place where there is no peace to keep. But patrols like the one I travelled with last night can at least bring a little security to the millions of people living in Darfur's miserable aid camps.

(pic credit Olivier Chassot)

1 Comment

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Brendan | March 5, 2009 5:06 PM | Reply

This is incredible stuff Rob, please keep up the great work.

B

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